Sorry if this chapter comes off as a bit… dull. I often get bored of writing dialogue, so I don't put my emotion and heart into it like I do for other parts. If you're an empathetic reader like I am, you'll be able to feel as my interest dwindled to the point where I was almost forcing myself to finish the chapter.

Bringin' on the sci-fi this chapter. Oh yeah. Teh w00tness.

Chapter 3: The Draught

The sky was scarlet and maroon with the sunset. Isaac sighed as he watched the crimson disk sink below the horizon. He'd promised his parents in his note that he'd be home by now. They were no doubt worried for him.

Or maybe they think I'm just goofing off, he mused grimly. It wasn't uncommon for him to take a while longer to do things due to his affinity for wandering and exploring and helping every single person who asked for it. In fact, he would occasionally return days later than he told his mother. She had learned not to worry much. And Garet, Jenna, and Felix would trust Isaac to take care of himself.

The Adept's thoughts were abruptly brought to a close as Iodem loudly entered the room. "Isaac of Vale, come with me," the man commanded. The summoned turned from the window and reluctantly obeyed. This time he was brought down a different hall, and they wound up in a crisp laboratory.

"Lord Babi's scientific crew has managed to put the power of Alchemy to good use," Iodem explained, gesturing Isaac have a seat on what appeared to be a metal examination table doctors often used. "With it, they have created a more refined type of the Lemurian Draught that grants His Lordship his long life. This Alchemic Draught, as it came to be known as, when injected, prevents aging altogether as opposed to merely slowing it. Not only that, but it is easy to manufacture in mass quantities."

"I don't care," Isaac replied bluntly. Iodem scoffed.

"Well, then allow me to enlighten you on a topic that you may find more interesting," he said somewhat sarcastically. "Lord Babi intends to create a new army: an army of Adepts. This will be his fleet for thousands of years, thanks to the wonders of the Alchemic Draught. And you, Isaac, are to be his first Adept soldier. It's exhilarating to think that you will be the first of your kind, don't you think?"

Isaac sprang forth from the table and pinned Iodem against the wall. "I swear in the name of Gaia and Sol, if you so much as lay a hand on me, you dirty, rotten vermin, you will find yourself fortunate to escape with both lungs!" he threatened, rage glowing in his eyes. His captive stared with wide eyes like a deer caught in the headlights, then a brazen grin worked its way forth.

"And if you so much as lay a hand on me, as you so foolishly have…" he began venomously. He drew a device out of his pocket that sent a sharp pain through Isaac's side when it the tip made contact with him. The boy cried out and blundered backwards, releasing Iodem. He glanced at the wound to make sure he didn't need a healing item that he didn't have and found no trace of the attack apart from a scorch mark on his clothes.

"I suggest you take your seat and behave yourself," Iodem advised. Isaac glared at his foe, yet did as he was told. He studied the small device that had been used against him for as long as it remained in view. Curiously he wondered how such a thing could inflict that kind of pain; it wasn't even sharp.

Before long, two men in white lab coats entered. One clutched a clipboard in his hand and furiously scribbled some random information. Iodem left as they passed him, offering the advice to "behave" again as he did so.

The presumed doctors spent the next five minutes weighing and measuring Isaac; one called out the values and the other noted them on his clipboard. The one taking notes left when they were through and returned shortly with a syringe filled with a red substance. The Adept cringed when he noticed the size of the needle.

"I trust you know what this is?" the doctor questioned, tilting his head towards the syringe. Isaac slowly shook his head, dreading the answer.

"It's a dose of the Alchemic Draught," his company explained. "The injection itself is no more than a mosquito's bite compared to the miscellaneous battles you have suffered, and the result is endless life if inoculated once every five years."

Isaac uttered a soft gasp. "And what if I don't want endless life?" he spat. The doctor shrugged.

"I can only pity you. Orders are orders."

"Just wait until the grafting procedure beings," the other physician chuckled.

The Earth Adept turned his head sharply at the comment. "Grafting?" he inquired, but before he could say another word, he gave a short shout as the syringe was inserted into the arm from which his head was turned.

"Agh! STOP!" he demanded as he swatted the needle out of the man's hand and away from his arm. This proved to be a wasted effort, as the majority of the Draught had already been injected. He held his hand to the area as blood began to well up from the wound.

"You'll be giving yourself Hell if you don't receive the full dosage!" the doctor reprimanded angrily. Isaac glared daggers in return.

"It'll be a living Hell if I wind up with eternal life, cursed to serve that bastard Babi for all of time and just watch as my friends wither and die," he reasoned, though his words were formed from anything but. The doctor who had mentioned grafting earlier sighed and stood before Isaac, her hands upon her hips in the same manner as a mother who was scolding her child.

"Isaac, I can sympathize with you, really I can, but you aren't being given a choice here," she explained in an even tone. "None of us were. Nielson and I were chosen from our towns for our brilliance and aptitude for learning; Lord Babi didn't ask us if we wanted to go or not. Raising a fuss will only get you more punishment than you deserve."

The Adept narrowed his eyes. "So all of Babi's men were forced to work for him against their will?" he concluded. The woman nodded remorsefully.

"Then why don't you just revolt?" Isaac asked. The doctors exchanged a worried glance as though they understood something that the young hero did not.

"It… was once attempted," the male physician said hesitantly as he retrieved the syringe from the floor. "About a dozen of the soldiers decided they were fed up with working for Babi. They attempted to take him down. Their plan was flawless, but…" He broke off with a sigh, leaving his partner to finish the tale.

"But one of the soldiers was disloyal to the others and confessed the entire plan to Lord Babi. They were all executed for treason," she completed.

Isaac bowed his head in defeat. Obviously those Babi had forced into labor were weak-willed and fearful of consequences. Even those that wished to defy him referred to him as their lord.

He glanced inquisitively at his hand as his index finger twitched without provocation. The recent events surrounding the Alchemic Draught were all but lost to him as his mind pondered other topics. The female doctor noticed the movement, though, and an expression of concern instantly crossed her face.

"Oh, that's just lovely," she muttered as she inspected Isaac's arm. Where the needle had been inserted, there was a moderately-sized scarlet bruise forming.

"I told you to accept the full dose," her partner sighed as he left the room. The Adept stared after him in partial dismay, turning his attention to his remaining company when it appeared the man wasn't returning.

"The Alchemic Draught is completely harmless to the body if injected in the proper amount," she explained, her voice wavering on the edge of distress, "but when taken in too much or too little, it can be fatal. The body's natural defenses instantly identify the Draught as a foreign body and attack it if the dosage was too high. But if it was too low, it is distributed throughout the bloodstream unevenly. In some areas it goes unchecked, but where there is more of it the blood cells defend."

"I don't understand a word you're saying," Isaac admitted when she paused for a breath. The doctor groaned in irritation.

"I'll get to the point, then. You didn't receive a full dose, so your body's internal chemistry is out of whack. If untreated, you will experience mind-numbing pain. Before long you will lose consciousness, and within the hour you will die."

The blonde boy noticed that the red blotch had taken the shape of what appeared to be veins. Towards his shoulder the marks were pale, but along his forearm they were vivid and prominent. Isaac took this as a bad sign. His premonitions proved correct as searing agony enveloped his arm, as the doctor had forewarned.

As his vision blurred, the other physician returned with an armload of materials. "We might as well kill two birds with one stone," he shrugged as he set down eight metal plates and two syringes, one full of what was recognized to be the Alchemic Draught and one completed empty.

"Isaac, we're going to drain the infected blood. You may feel light-headed after a time, but…"

The doctor's voice faded into the sound of the boy's heartbeat until that, too, evaporated into silence. Darkness claimed his sight and nightmares clutched at his mind.

--

Isn't that lovely? We had a little explanation, a little Isaac losin' it, and little MORE Isaac losin' it, a lot more explanation, and a big ol' cliffhanger just for the heck of things.

You can review if you want toooooooo… But I sure want you to. And chapter four might take a leetle bit longer than these others have, since I've only done a paragraph so far and I need to start my evil summer reading assignments.