Fight School for beginners.

[Nevin]

Nevin closed and locked the hatch behind him, shifting the four vials he had brought up to the main level from his carry platform to his arms. It had taken him a day or two to get the varying formulae correct, and now he was curious to see if any of them could be used to help the man who had come to him. Sketch, the storyteller, had come to him with a rather unique problem that was causing him physical stress and problems, and the man had hoped that Nevin's alchemical skills could be put to use in his situation.

The problem was, Sketch's situation was unique enough that Nevin was essentially flying blind as he tried to figure out how to allay the 'illness' that the other man was suffering from. It was fascinating though, and Nevin had a sheaf if notes and ideas downstairs now on how to mimic the problem - ways of causing short and long term restless and sleepless nights - as well as possible effects of the lack of rest on various bodies, and how to possibly reduce those effects even if the root cause couldn't be dealt with. Unique problems were always a spark for advancements in his Alchemy - part of why he kept getting distracted whenever he saw a new race that wasn't well documented.

As he came into the main room of the shop, Nevin saw that Sketch was still waiting patiently, seemingly lost in his thoughts. The other man was as devoted to his pursuit of stories and tales of yore as Nevin was to furthering his alchemical and magical studies. It was... refreshing to meet another dedicated individual, even if he didn't seem to have the same obsessive issues that Nevin did - of course, that was just conjecture, Nevin had no way of knowing if that was really the case.

The Alchemist set the vials down on the counter between himself and Sketch. They were all shades of an inky grey hue, and Nevin had arranged them from a pale grey all the way to the final, which was so dark as to be almost black. He swept one arm above the vials as he began to explain.

"Right then. The hypothesis I was working off of is that your issue is not falling asleep - it is rather that, the stage of sleep where dreams occur is disturbed, thus preventing you from actually reaching a restful state. Now, unfortunately I cannot address the nature of these beings that are preventing a restful slumber - my skills with magic are rather different from those concerned with dreams and their denizens, so I must focus my efforts on the physical plane. So, my solution is this." He tapped the counter behind the vials. "The ingredients in these are all the same, just in varying concentrations. The part you'll be interested in is a sedative that is not normally used in sleep aides for two reasons: first, it tends to shove the user straight into deep slumber within a few minutes of consumption. Second, waking up from the medicine is abrupt and jarring - there will be no gradual falling sleep or waking up with this medicine, you will either be asleep or awake. However, considering that it is during these gradual states that most dreams occur... Now. Each of these has, as I said the same ingredients. The darker the hue, the more of the sedative was used in the brewing process. I want you to try each of these in progression, and see which one it is that actually allows you to get a full, restful sleep. Work up to the most potent though - the amount of sedative in it is just a few steps below the maximum dosage for most humans. Hopefully one of the lesser doses will work."

[The Crooked Knight]

Sketch was sure that what ever side effects were present, Sketch wouldn't care. He'd not had a good night sleep in months. "I think that one of the first two would work perfectly. Thank you Nevin," Sketch gave his friend a deep bow. "I'll report back after trying the first one, and we'll see what we need to do from there."

Sketch took the first bottle. He genuinely looked forward to having a good night's rest, of this worked out well, Nevin would have Sketch as a constant customer.

Sketch was certain that whatever problems that Sketch encountered, that the alchemist could solve them, even ones that resulted from his particular condition. The young man had skills that most doctors would envy, and at such a young age that it made Sketch extremely curious about where he'd be in 10 years.

Sketch and Nevin had set up a bench in a corner of Sketch's room at the inn to test out the potions. Nevin knew how to monitor Sketch, and at which time he'd be approaching deep sleep. The storyteller knew he was a magnet for the Grym, something about his powers not only allowed him to summon them, but also made him naturally draw the wild Grym to his dreams. He hoped that blocking them out while he slept wouldn't effect his ability to summon the Nightmares.

"So tell me, Sir Nevin, Now that we have that problem reasonably well in hand, let me ask about the conditions we need for that weapon you'd spoken of. You say you'd need my to have a Grym present? Is there anyplace in particular you'd like me to do it? and is there any specific size or other qualification for the subject in question? I can get very specific if you need particular conditions. And do not be alarmed, it won't cause you any harm, I'll keep it docile."

Sketch wanted to reassure his friend that he was in no danger from his abilities, normally people didn't get much exposure to a Grym, that's why they tended to spawn a legend. It was the whole point of the Nightmares, the more widespread the legends of a particular Grym, the more powerful the Grym became. While he'd never made any real attempt to hide his power, he'd never wanted to cause a panic, and he wasn't sure how the townsfolk would react to the monsters, or how they'd affect the experiments or potions that Nevin had going on in his shop.