Madimi

“Well,” thundered Rudolph. “Have you come up with it?” Summoned to the court, Edward found himself outside the tower for the first time in the six months of his detention. “Your Majesty,” he said. “This is a very difficult problem to solve. It has eluded the greatest minds for centuries.” “I did not ask for a history lesson, scryer. I asked for a progress report.” “You have been more than generous in providing the supplies necessary for the pursuit of this project. Your Majesty, I am making great progress. Forty more days, Majesty. I need but forty more days.” “Forty more days? What have you been doing the last six months?” “The process is very complicated. I cooked the mineral cinnabar with rainwater in a stone vessel, whereupon I purified it with aqua regia. I then distilled it in an alembic with fire of the first degree. Air and fire rose first and the earth remained at the bottom of the vessel. The earth was subjected for five days to burning until it was reduced to a white powder. I combined this with the alcohol of wine and sealed until it converted to the oil of sun. This I repeated three times to produce the tincture of sun, perfect in its degree.” “I have no idea what you are raving about.” “It is about the red and green lions,” said Kelley. “I have yet to reconcile them wherein, through the spagyric art, it shall yield the ultimate tincture of the alchemists.” “Leave this court, scryer, and go back to your work. Forty days hence you are to return and demonstrate how to turn iron into gold. Do not fail in this mission. Do you understand me?” “Yes, Majesty. You will not be disappointed.” ~~ Kelley knew that his head remained attached to his body by the thread of an idea and that his continued survival was dependent on the artful deployment of a convincing illusion. By the fortieth day he had assembled all the props necessary for his show. “Majesty,” he said. “Through your wisdom and generosity I have completed the task and am now prepared to reveal to you the philosopher’s stone.” Assistants rolled a large cart into Vladislav Hall upon which Kelley had arranged a series of vessels, alembics, and other arcana for the demonstration. A hundred courtiers had assembled in the hall. In the middle of the cart was a small fire blazing beneath a crucible. Above the cart, four men installed a canopy with canvas sides rolled up and tied above eye level. Kelley waved them off with a flourish. “Your Majesty,” he said as he poured iron filings into the crucible. “Behold,” and he tossed a red powder onto the hot metal. “The red tincture. The philosopher’s stone.” The contents of the crucible flared up in a blinding white light and red smoke rose to the top of the canopy. Kelley jerked on a rope and the four sides of the canopy dropped to the floor. He withdrew some gold nuggets from his pocket and tossed them into the crucible, whereupon he seized the rope again and hoisted the sides. The court was dazzled by this exhibition. “The gold,” barked the emperor. “Where is the gold?” Wielding a set of long-handled iron tongs, Kelley lifted the crucible and showed it to the emperor. “Behold the triumph of the spagyric art,” he said and dumped the contents onto the stone floor. Among the ashes glistened an unmistakable bubble of molten gold. “Success,” the emperor crowed. “I must have it! Give it to me, scryer, and I will make you the second richest man in the empire.” “That which I had was consumed here today. I must return to the castle to prepare more.” “You have a week. Go.” Kelley bowed and made his exit as the assistants collected his props and removed them. The emperor dropped to his knees and dug with his nails at the puddle of solidified gold. Kelley saw his chance and rushed for the exit with his minder hard on his heels. “Back to the tower,” he said, aborting Kelley’s attempt to escape. The emperor summoned his confessor and confidant Johann Pistorius to examine the products of Kelley’s demonstration. “The iron and a residue of the red powder are still here,” he observed. “In my opinion the alchemist surreptitiously added the gold during the few moments he was enclosed within the shroud.” “Can you be sure this was a trick?” said Rudolph. “Could not the red tincture have converted some of the iron, leaving the rest unchanged?” “This red tincture, Majesty, is nothing but cinnabar, a staple of the spagyric artist’s formulary. I do not believe it has the power of the philosopher’s stone.” “Guards!” shouted the emperor. “After that man. Bring him to me.” Minutes after Kelley had attempted his bolt to freedom, he was back in custody standing before an emperor whose face was florid with anger. “Charlatan! Trickster! Fraud!” bellowed Rudolph. “Tomorrow at noon you will receive your reward for attempting to deceive your sovereign: an appointment with the Halifax gibbet. Take him to the dungeon.” The cell was sealed by a heavy wooden door. The only ventilation was by way of a small, barred aperture high on the wall near the ceiling. Kelley sat hunched on the cold stone floor. As he sank into despair, he became aware of a presence in the cell. Though it was dark he could see the outline of a figure standing in the corner, the slim figure of a young girl. “Madimi?” “The one and the only. Got yourself in quite a pickle, I see.” “This is your fault, you know.” “I know no such thing. All I said was do what thou wilt. That is what you did and that is what landed you here.” “Help me get out of here,” he pleaded, as he pounded on the door. “Tell me what to do.” “If a door is locked, look for a window.” He looked up. “I can’t reach that high.” “Edward. Think. The walls are ancient and full of cracks between the stones. Use your fingers and toes to climb to the window above.” “Right,” he said, as he kicked off his shoes and hugged the wall. He began to ascend one cleft at a time. “You are doing well, Kelley. Easy does it.” After what seemed to Kelley to be hours, but was only a few minutes, he had almost reached the window. “Now what?” he said. “Grab one of the bars and pull yourself up.” Kelley seized the bar, but its anchorage was crumbling like the rest of the ancient dungeon. For an instant Kelley could be seen waving a heavy iron bar in midair. Unable or unwilling to let go, the weight of the thing flipped him upside down and he plunged head first onto the stone floor. Madimi looked at the lifeless remnant oozing red. “Oops,” she said.