Cool Beans

Having the next two days off after orientation, Kir decided to do some exploring of the school. He wanted to do so with Stella so he could ask her more questions about Hell and its relationship to the world, but she'd been in a strange mood ever since getting her reward.

It was not a usual occurrence at the Academy, which seemed to operate on the same five-day schedule as everywhere else Kir had been, which wasn't many places. Four days in school for every one day off would be his life once the next week started.

Hanging out with Rainier was an option... he didn't want to consider because he still felt awkward about crushing on both him and his girlfriend. So instead, he decided to make good on his money-making plan.

The school had a dozen arboretums in the Tower of Earth, and one in each of the other elemental towers. The central tower had the Grand Garden on the roof of the Arena, and according to the school map, there was a restricted garden beneath the girls' First Year dorms.

All of the school's arboretums provided ingredients for potions and food, with the restricted garden in the central tower reserved solely for food production.

Thus, Kir made his way to the Earth tower, deciding to start from the top. The top story was a mountainous environment, not the sort of place Kir was looking for. He took one look after the elevator opened and pressed the button for the next garden.

The next garden contained a completely different biome, a swampy one, and he caught a glimpse of students walking away on planks suspended through the center of the bog. Garden after garden, he refrained from stepping past the elevator, until at last he found what he was looking for.

The environment was a humid jungle, and it brought a name to Kir's memory.

"Vietnam..." Kir muttered to himself as he stepped out of the elevator. He had memories of eating the food, and of studying the place. Most importantly, for what he wanted, he remembered the nation as the source of his favorite beverage...

"Vie-what?" a voice asked at Kir's elbow.

Standing next to Kir was a beastkin woman of indeterminable age. She had long claws on the ends of her fingers, which grasped a clipboard. Instead of hair, scales flowed down her head with little tufts of white hair peeking out in places.

"Oh," Kir said, surprised. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there." A memory surfaced of the type of animal whose traits she had, and Kir bowed slightly to the pangolin-like woman.

"Hah, haven't heard that one before. Also haven't seen you around. You must be one of the skips." She chuckled, rattling her scales slightly.

"They're calling us 'skips'?" Kir asked.

"When they can agree on what to call you at all. I suppose it was inevitable that something would be done to get more mages trained... since the Eye of Hell is almost upon us..." she chuckled and started waddling into the forest.

"What's the Eye of Hell?" Kir asked.

The woman, who Kir guessed had to be a professor, turned to him. "You aren't well versed in geography, are you? It's the big volcano at the center of the Hell face. Every couple of hundred years like clockwork, the damn thing goes off and we get a Heavenswar."

"My moms didn't read much that wasn't about magic, romance, or farming," Kir replied.

"Moms... hmm... Ah! You're Brigit's child then. Guess that makes you demon-born," she said. "Your mother was one of my best students. A decently green thumb. I'm glad she wound up a witch," the pangolin-woman replied.

"I'm sorry, I don't think I remember them ever mentioning you... I'm Kir," he introduced himself.

"Call me Urvi. Everyone else does," Urvi replied.

"Are you a professor?" Kir asked.

"Was. Now I mostly look after the arboretums. And the garden," she replied. "Interested in horticulture?"

"I'm looking for a plant," Kir said. "One that grows in this type of environment."

"Well, you found the right woman. I know every inch of every biome in the Academy. Been my life's work getting everything just right." She chuckled. "Us meeting like this... Coincidence, or fate perhaps?"

"I'd argue the former," Kir said. "I'm learning Brigit was rather well known..."

"Oh she was a terror," Urvi chuckled. "First student I can recall ever challenging a professor to a Mage's duel. Almost won, too."

Kir grimaced a bit at the thought, remembering how Brigit cackled when she was feeling superior. Changing the subject seemed prudent. "So... um... I'm looking for a bean. I think it grows red but starts off green... sort of like grapes... and it might be popular with goats..."

"Ah! Pig berries. I know them," Urvi exclaimed. "Not a particularly useful cultivation... May I ask what your interest in them is?"

Kir figured it couldn't hurt to tell Urvi what he generally intended. "Well... if it's the right kind of bean, I intend to make a drink out of them. A potion of sorts, to help people stay awake."

"Oh?" Urvi said, raising a brow covered in scales as she turned to look at him. "That's a new one. Most of the time, we just feed them to pigs when we grow too many. Same as what they do where it comes from. How many would you need?"

"Just a few bags full to start," Kir said. "I need to do some experimenting... see if I can process them with magic."

"Hmm... well... I'd be interested in trying this potion of yours, assuming you know what you're doing. I'm getting more than a bit nocturnal in my old age... Makes it harder to process paperwork when everyone else is asleep, and the normal magic potions for staying awake cost quite a bit." Urvi smacked Kir lightly in the leg with her clipboard and laughed.

Kir smiled. "I think if I succeed, it'll be very popular with students and workers, since it'll be no-magic-required," Kir said. "Though maybe we should rename the beans..."

Urvi laughed. "You're ambitious, aren't you? Rename the beans... hah! Thinking of naming them after yourself?"

"Actually," Kir smiled, "I was thinking 'coffee.'"