Chapter 7: Ironhold
Vardon had informed Lucen that the Alchemist that the Yellow Tower was sending a genius alchemist, the youngest to achieve four circles before reaching thirty years old. The name of the Alchemist was Robert Duskwell.
When Lucen heard the name of the person coming, he was quite surprised. In the original game, which was set to start more than a decade from now, the yellow tower was no longer there.
Most of the Alchemists of the yellow tower joined their rival tower, the grey tower. The rest scattered to their hometowns or disappeared entirely. Only one remained among the ruins of the forgotten tower, the so-called Mad Genius, Robert Duskwell.
Robert was a named NPC who assisted the hero’s party, mostly by selling potions, strange trinkets, and volatile contraptions. One of his most well-known creations was a makeshift grenade called Brimstone Bloom.
It wasn’t as destructive as a third-circle fire spell, but it had one major advantage: anyone could use it. Mana or not, noble or commoner, even the squishiest support character could hurl one and cause a decent explosion. A bit expensive, sure, but you could buy them in bulk, and it gave non-combat characters a way to meaningfully contribute in a fight.
The Robert in-game was someone the word eccentric was made for. Another thing Lucen remembered was that Robert was very stingy and would always find ways to get money for his experiments.
’If I remember correctly, his backstory said that the Yellow Tower fell due to financial ruin. That’s why he became so obsessed with money to keep his research going, no matter what. But now... He’s coming here before all that happened. I wonder if he’s still the same person.’
...
A wiry man with unkempt violet-dark hair and ink-stained gloves, Robert Duskwell stepped down from the wagon with a groan. A bulging satchel was slung over his shoulder, crammed with rolled-up parchment, potion vials, and many other materials.