There was little room in the cave underneath the tree, but any little thing could give him away to the metal people who continued patrolling the area. For whatever reason, they really wanted to find Arz.

  He emptied his jacket and his belt pocket, lying everything on the ground before him. It wasn’t a lot. All of the ingredients and items on his table back in the study could fill up the bit of ground in the shallow cave several times over.

  Not that he felt his hiding spot was luxurious, or even comfortable.

  Arz leaned against the rocky mound, leaning so the bit of light that made it through the vines shone on his notebook.

  The metal people have forced me into hiding. I am in search of ways to both strengthen my portal and to understand the speech of these people. Being that they continually repeat the same thing, I believe, I have to assume it is an order or a warning of some kind. They have failed to hit me while firing, but there is the possibility these were merely warning shots as they were telling me to stop moving or to obey other orders.

  Either way, I would prefer to leave this place.

  The cities locked in time loops on this planet are interfering with my portals. Or so I assume. I have not interacted with the time bubbles and have no intention of doing such. I don’t think I would escape if I were to touch it.

  I have one return potion remaining. I will need to find a way to test the mixture, as well as work to strengthen it with my limited resources.

  I have no more sparkstones, some moonstone dust, a bit of rainbow salt, and a little dab of Storm Tree paste. I have not seen anything that looks like worthwhile ingredients here, but there is potential.

  Can one harvest time?

  Arz stared at the wall of the time bubble as his pen hovered over the last sentence. The gray-purple wall looked as if it had torn apart the air on the other side of Arz’s little hiding spot. He would need to test it.

  “Alright,” Arz whispered to himself. He couldn’t hear any metal people at the moment, but whispering still felt right while he was in such an odd position.

  “I need a surface to test this, but pouring it on the ground could contaminate the mixture.” Arz frowned and looked at every last little thing nearby. “I need a flat rock.”

  He stuck his head out of the roots and scanned nearby. No metal people. He shoved the items on the ground to one side, giving him just enough room to crawl out.

  “A rock. A flat rock. Or a rock bowl.”

  The great thing about a rocky landscape was the absolute surplus of rocks. Arz sifted through a little pile, brushing some dust or dirt off each one until he found one that looked suitable. He put some of the dust back on, as it could be useful.

  Before long, familiar metal footsteps clanked against a stony mound higher up the hill, so Arz scurried back to his hiding spot.

  Fear was quickly becoming a numb feeling within him. It was difficult for him to be scared all of the time, especially when he was quickly getting lost in his own mind while trying to problem solve.

  When it seemed sufficiently cleaned, Arz placed the mostly flat rock between his feet. He sat in a way that he was able to access everything in the little cave. The rock was slightly indented. Not enough to be a bowl, but enough to keep the liquids steady. It seemed like it would be the best workstation he would be able to manage given his limited resources.

  But fear was exhausting, and thinking so hard was even more exhausting. There was an odd comfort to the position Arz found himself in. Comfortable enough that he rested his forehead on his knee and let his mind run simulations of possible recipes until he fell asleep.

  Sleep didn’t last long. Not with the metal people marching around even in his dreams. Arz yawned, but kept to his same position, feeling a little bit refreshed and a lot of groggy.

  He poured the purple mixture right onto the rock. It moved around until it settled near the middle. Arz held his breath, waiting to see if whatever mineral the rock was made out of would react to his mixture.

  It did not.

  Arz carefully picked the stone up until it was an inch from his face. His eyes scanned the mixture, looking for even a slight discoloration or a chunk of something that wasn’t properly mixed in.

  It looked fine. He hadn’t messed up a return potion since he first started making them.

  “What is wrong with you?” he whispered, letting his frustration leak out.

  Arz set it back down and picked up the moonstone dust. It wasn’t even from a shining moonstone, so he didn’t know what to do with it. Why did he even bring it?

  He wanted to pretend he didn’t have rainbow salt. At least, for now. A little sniff, or maybe more of a snort, would help him focus much better for a short time. It wasn’t necessary yet. The fear was keeping Arz on enough of an edge for now.

  He carefully collected the return potion back into the vial and corked it. There was now a little bit of rock dust inside, but there was a good chance that didn’t matter.

  The little rock was now going to be his work station. Arz pulled a spoon from his jacket. It had a long handle with a tiny little scoop on the end. While it was ideal for mixing and not much else, it would have to do for the other things he needed at the moment.

  It scooped a tiny sample of the Storm Tree paste out of the small vial easily and spread the paste across the stone. Arz pinched some of the dust he had collected earlier and sprinkled it on one edge, on a thin spot of some Storm Tree leaf paste.

  Nothing.

  He noted it down.

  A spoon covered in paste was not great for testing. He needed a wash station, which was going to be unlikely in his current predicament. Arz looked around the little cave for a while before sighing.

  His jacket would have to do. He wiped the spoon off on the fabric until there was no sign of any purple paste remaining.

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  He had previously tested normal moonstone and rainbow salt with Storm Tree paste. Almost every ingredient on Earth had been mixed with the paste at this point. Everything needed to be tested.

  But that meant he had nothing else to use to create a portal at the moment. Arz spent some time mixing his other ingredients with the stone dust from the planet outside, but nothing reacted. Perhaps he needed heat or electricity, but his options were severely limited.

  He sighed and leaned back.

  “Hopeless.”

  The time bubble looked like a lake’s surface on a windy day. Little ripples moved across it. From his current perspective, Arz could only see parts of buildings as they moved through their lives. He hadn’t seen any living things inside. Maybe organic life couldn’t survive the time loop.

  He leaned to the side to see more, but a root smacked him in the face.

  “Ow.” Arz grabbed the root and tore. It came off easier than expected from how rough and solid the roots had been when he pushed in and out of the cave.

  The chunk of root was solid and had moist green flesh inside.

  “Oh.” Arz grabbed his spoon and scooped some of the flesh out. He examined the rest of the root and decided he needed to start bringing a knife. It would make things much easier if he could scrape some of the root’s skin off to test on its own.

  When pressed against the paste, the green flesh let off a stench much like red meat that had been sitting out too long. Something sour but not quite as unappetizing as he knew it should be.

  But a stench was a reaction. And a reaction was alchemy.

  A grin grew on Arz’s face. He needed to figure out what else would force a reaction strong enough to tear a portal with the interference of the time bubbles.

  He tore off a few more roots and set them to the side. There was hardly enough paste for even one potion, so he collected and corked it to keep it safe.

  Arz put a little moonstone dust on the rock. He sighed as soon as he saw it. Shining moonstone would already be more helpful, but perhaps the moonstone dust could act as a catalyst or something.

  Arz placed a root on the stone and rolled the handle of the spoon over it, forcing some of the softer insides to push out of the torn end. Spit wasn’t ideal when one needed water, but he figured spit would be easier than urine. At least, for now.

  He took a tiny pinch of rainbow salt, leaving enough for a mental boost if he needed it, and sprinkled it onto the rock.

  Nothing happened.

  Because he needed heat. Arz looked at everything he had again. What would be the best way to create a fire? If he hadn’t thrown all of his sparkstones, everything would be easier. Sparkstones were easily the most helpful tool he normally carried.

  Arz gathered more roots and hollowed them out with the spoon. The inside had enough moisture that it would inhibit a fire, and smoke would easily draw attention to his position. He took the opportunity to fill some empty vials with the green flesh.

  The outer skin of the roots formed a pile on Arz’s left against the stone wall. If he put the fire on the other side, it would potentially catch the roots and the whole tree on fire, which would destroy his hiding spot.

  A combustion reaction would cause enough heat for him to create the mixture on the rock, but what would react enough to start the roots on fire?

  He had to hunt.

  The idea of leaving the cave was terrifying. Nothing good could come of it. Except nothing good could come from staying inside either. It was a difficult predicament.

  There had to be more in the realm than he had found. He had the spiral trees and some mostly nonreactive rocks. It was impossible for there to be nothing else.

  But the whole time he had been in the realm, he had been up near the city. The hill continued going down just past his hiding spot as it got farther from the city’s edge. If he traveled farther down, there was a chance he would find something worth testing.

  Arz ate one of the small pieces of jerky he had brought. Luckily, those mostly stayed in his belt pocket all the time. He didn’t have time to get any other survival items, so he would need to make things last.

  But he was thirsty.

  Arz gathered his vials, checked for any nearby metal people, and scurried out of the cave. He ran like a mad man down the hill, letting big strides take him faster than he could actually control.

  A metal man said the same phrase, causing Arz to stop and skid down the hill. He wobbled and fought for balance, managing to grab hold of a twisted tree to stay on his feet at the last moment.

  There was no metal person in view. Who talked?

  He stayed frozen for a few breaths, then kept on down the hill.

  The landscape changed below, turning from the stone mound-covered hill to a plain of tall stalks that didn’t have any more color than the rest of the planet. A few more petrified looking trees spiraled up out of the stalks. These ones were bigger than the rest he had seen, except maybe the one he had been hiding under.

  Arz pulled out his notebook and wrote as he walked.

  Spiralwood Trees seem to be the only tree-like plant that grows on his planet, which I am currently calling Time Bubble Metal Stone Place. The name needs work.

  I am searching for more ingredients, hoping to find something that can assist with creating a fire. I am working to create an acid from the Spiralwood roots, which can be created with a stable fire that will heat the mixture created from spit, the roots, and some rainbow salt. If I find water to drink, I’ll use that instead of spit, but at least saliva is better than urine.

  A small win is still a win.

  Arz wasn’t entirely sure who he was writing for. He wasn’t likely to forget anything happening when his fears were so heightened. But it still felt like a good practice. Everything in the small notebook could be collected into the tome. The important bits, at least.

  But what was the tome for?

  It didn’t matter. Not at the moment, at least. That was a mystery to figure out in the future. Maybe he could get it printed and distributed all around Bralincote just to shove the Wizards’ faces into his exploits. He waved the idea away as he reached the stalks and ran his hand along them. They were taller than he was and harder even than the Spiralwood bark. Walking through them would be difficult, and he would certainly get lost.

  Arz broke a stalk in half. The inside looked like a stone with bubbles trapped inside, but it was certainly a plant. It gave off a somewhat floral smell. Maybe more like hay. Definitely more like hay.

  Arz broke the stalk into smaller pieces and stored them in his jacket pockets. If he moved wrong, they poked him, which would certainly irritate him before long. It was still better than having to carry giant stalks around with him.

  He hadn’t seen a metal person in quite some time, which was starting to feel suspicious. Perhaps he should grab his stuff and bring it down the hill farther if the metal people were less present below.

  Arz finally looked back uphill, seeing the somewhat steep incline covered in mounds and different landings that weren’t quite level. The city led part way downhill before ending at a cliff. Arz was now below that cliff, which had multiple caves leading into it.

  Arz sucked in air. He was trying to decide to explore more, or to go collect his things. He looked back and forth a few times before electing to go to the caves. They were closer. And he was tired.

  The stalks poked into his torso, probably tearing through his jacket and shirt. But he pretended to ignore it. Only the caves mattered.

  Arz pulled out his notebook again.

  Caves provided a unique opportunity for an alchemist with a good eye. Or two good eyes, as is my case. Both eyes are still working great.

  Caves are dark, damp, gross places, which is great for alchemical ingredients. Fungi, odd animals, and minerals all collect in caves.

  Although, I don’t know if there are any fungi or fungi related things on this planet. What did I call it?

  The entrance to the cave was as dark and damp as he expected, but it had obviously been used for something by the inhabitants of the city above. The walls were carefully carved and supported, making it look more like a mine entrance than a naturally-occuring cave.

  Perhaps it was a mine.

  The ground was paved in a different material than the roads were above. It felt almost like metal but somehow softer. He tried to grab part of it, but it wouldn’t budge. Perhaps he could find a part that was broken.

  Arz took one more look around before venturing into the cave. No metal people were nearby. Hopefully it was safe.