An Owl's Rise

With Katrina's new advice Evelyn got to work on getting ready to produce more product to sell on the first floor of the hall.

However, she was out of supplies now and needed more.

But instead of going out an gathering it herself this time she allowed her hard earned credits to do the work for her.

The next day instead of opening up shop she went around buying everything she needed to make more potions.

'Just to restock what I had to start I had to spend around thirty thousand credits. But I suppose I should be able to make quite a bit more, so it was well worth the price.' Evelyn thought once she had finished her shopping.

Of course, no other owl anywhere near her rank could make as much profit as her off of alchemy. Not only would their creations with the same materials be far inferior, but also, they had a chance of failure while Evelyn did not.

Her heavenly flame as well as the equipment Melisandre loaned her put her in the absolute best position for creating alchemical items. And this was what contributed to her immense success.

'Stir, stir, stir, stir.'

Once she had all of the ingredients she needed, she got back to brewing. Though this time she made sure that most of her products were diluted much more than before and that she only had a few of the better ones that were still only around fifty percent of her best.

'I think that should do it.' Evelyn thought as she brushed the top of her forehead with her wing.

She had spent a few days on a brewing binge and had made what she hoped to be enough product to last her at least a few days this time.

Unfortunately, during this time that meant she had not been able to sell anything or practice her magic, but she considered it a necessary step for the future.

'I do not know exactly what Melisandre thinks I will need so many credits for, but I suppose having more cannot hurt.' Evelyn thought as she cleaned up her cauldron.

During the last few days, she had not seen Melisandre once. Apparently her important meeting had been extended, and now it was not known when she would come back.

But now that she had what she needed she planned to open up shop again and hopefully this time she would not ruffle any feathers.

The next day she got up early and made her way to her empty stall that had been closed up for the last few days.

Luckily it was not unusual for stalls that ran out of product faster than they anticipated to close down for a bit and take some time to restock. Though it normally did not happen after their first day of being open.

'I can feel all of their eyes on me.' Evelyn thought while she was staking bottles on her shelves.

She had been gone for many days now and many thought that she would not be coming back, but here she was.

A number of the other owls organizing their stalls wandered by hers to check it out and where surprised and relieved to see that her stock was not nearly as impressive in terms of quality.

"Looks like you have far less of those top-quality potions this time. Why is that?" One of the curious vendors that had no ire towards Evelyn asked.

This owl did not deal in the common brews that Evelyn made and only created more uncommon but still very valuable brews in order to make his credits.

"So, you noticed. On my first day I unloaded only my very best that I had been making for many months. I managed to make a few more in the last few days but now I am going to need to unload my less quality supply of potions and pills." Evelyn said, thankful that someone asked so that they could spread the information around.

She wanted to get it out as fast as possible and not be in the spotlight anymore.

Thankfully the owl that had asked her this question started disseminating the information and it would not be long until all the other owls knew.

Soon enough the alchemy hall opened again for the day and numerous owls began pouring in.

A few of the customers that had bought from Evelyn before came over, excited to see if they could get more quality potions as before.

Unfortunately, while they were not totally disappointed, Evelyn had far less for sale than last time, and also limited it to one of any type per person so that one group could not just buy them all at once.

This caused her to get far less sales overall, but she still did well for any owl on their second day and easily sold all of her better-quality potions.

When the day came to an end, she had only made around twenty thousand credits instead of the astounding six hundred thousand from before.

'Still. this better. I made a good amount and stood out far less than before. I already earned way more than I probably need. I can just steadily increase my credits now.' Evelyn thought as she closed up shop.

When she was done this time, she was not accosted by a horde of owls that thought she had broken the rules, but instead by just a few that wanted to get closer to her.

However, Evelyn just blew them all off, not wanting to get to know any other owls, as she wanted to get by with as little interaction with others as possible.

'Most likely they want to use me for something anyway.' Evelyn thought as she made her way back to Melisandre's mansion.

Her experiences told her that most of the time all she would get by trusting others would be to be used and abused.

When she arrived back at the mansion, she was suspired to see that Melisandre was finally back.

She appeared to have just recently arrived as Anneli and Katrina were in the middle of greeting her.

"Ah, Evelyn, perfect timing. Katrina and Anneli have been telling me that you want to speak to me. We can do that now if you are ready?" Melisandre said with a brighter smile on her face than normal.

Just looking at her Evelyn could tell she was in a better mood than normal. and this took a weight off of her shoulders since she was afraid that something bad had happened that was taking up Melisandre's time.

Nodding her head, Evelyn accepted Melamine's invitation and soon enough the two of them were brought to Melisandre's room with her teleportation item.

"Now before we begin, would you mind telling me how many credits you have right now?" Melisandre said as she sat down.

Figuring that this was a fine segway into what she wanted to ask Evelyn held up her identification cuff and showed Melisandre the number on it.

Seeing it, even the leader of the alchemy hall was fairly impressed that Evelyn had made so much in a such a short amount of time.

"You never cease to astound me. I may not be that up to date on the intricacies of fiend beasts, but I am certain that no other could make as much as you. In fact, I would say that you have made closer to what most peak awakened beasts can expect to earn." Melisandre said with a proud expression.

Hearing this, Evelyn could only frown as she wondered what all of these credits were actually supposed to be spent on.

But she had other things to discuss with Melisandre first and told her about what had happened on her first day open for business on the first floor of the alchemy hall. Though she also made sure to mention just how interested the overseer was in her.

"Hm, well I suppose that is a bit of a problem, but the solution Katrina suggested should work fine. If anyone gives you any real problems, I can take care of it in the worst-case scenario. As for the overseer, he is just a curious guy and doing his job. He wants to make sure that the whoever backing you is not going to cause any problems in the alchemy hall. He is not the most tight lipped induvial though, so I do not wish to make our relationship know to him at this point. Judging by how he gave up easily enough he does not want to ruffle any feathers. I recommend you just keep doing as you are for now and things will cool down quickly."

With her worries abated by Melisandre, Evelyn let out a sigh of relief and then asked her about why she had been gone so long.

"That is a secret, but for you I do not mind sharing." Melisandre said with a big grin on her face. "Truth be told I got a lead on an item that I need to evolve to the next rank and was able to track it down and obtain it. Now I am one step closer to becoming the highest class of beast."

Melisandre then did a double take around as if to make sure no one else was around, before taking an item out of her storage armband.

As soon as it was out in the open the temperature of the room spiked exponentially and was bathed in a red glow.

Practically mesmerized by it, Evelyn stared at the beautiful red gemstone in Melisandre's hands.

"This is an inferno crown diamond. A very rare magical item that has accumulated an immense amount of magical energy in a place of extreme heat."

Staring at the diamond, Evelyn felt her instincts urging her to take it, but the rational part of her mind told her that it would be supremely stupid to try and do so.

Luckily, she did not have to fight herself for long as Melisandre put the gem away.

"Your self-control is astounding. Most beasts would have been frothing at the mouth to try and grab such a powerful magical item." Melisandre said with an impressed expression. "But enough about my gains in get closer to evolving. It is time that we begin focusing on yours now that you have an abundance of credits."

Taking out a list, Melisandre handed it over to Evelyn and let her read through it.

"What might this be?" Evelyn asked as she was not familiar with what was on the list.

"Those are items that are used in the known evolutions of zephyr owls. As you appear to be an offshoot of their species. It is possible that some of the same items will be used as a catalyst for you to reach the next rank."