Jason continued walking deeper into the alchemy room as though Andrew and Dennis were nothing more than background noise. The deliberate dismissal was the final spark.
Dennis's voice cracked with anger. "I dare you to take one more step!"
Jason paused, glanced back over his shoulder, and offered a mild smile. "And what exactly will you do if I take it?"
Dennis opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. No clever threat arrived. His eyes swept the chamber in growing frustration until they landed on a single vibrant herb growing in a carefully tended corner plot near the far wall. The plant's leaves glowed with a soft, healthy luster that marked it as something the grand elder had nurtured with considerable effort. A calculating smile replaced Dennis's uncertainty.
"Do you know what the grand elder hates most?" he asked.
The casual amusement left Jason's face at once. "If you're thinking of touching that herb, you'd better reconsider. Unless you want to lose the fingers you use to point at people."
Dennis spread his hands in mock fear. "Oh, terrifying. Look at me, shaking in my boots. That is, of course, if you can handle both of us at once."
Jason's gaze shifted to Andrew, who had remained silent until now. "Try it and find out what happens to those fingers."
Andrew's mouth curved into a sharp smirk. "I'd love to see you try."
He launched himself toward the herb bed. Jason moved at the same instant, intercepting him before he could close the final distance. Andrew skidded to a halt only an arm's length from the plant.
"Dennis—now!" Andrew barked. "Front and back. He can't cover both!"
Dennis circled wide, angling for Jason's blind side while Andrew pressed from the front. The two of them clearly intended to overwhelm him with numbers the way they once had in the outer camps.
Jason's smile returned, colder this time. He settled his weight and closed both hands into fists. "If you still think I'm the same weak boy you used to push around, you're about to learn otherwise."
"Enough talking," Andrew snarled. "Let our fists decide!"
He drew his right arm back for a heavy punch. The blow never landed. An iron grip locked around his elbow from behind, freezing the arm in mid-motion. Andrew's head snapped around. The grand elder stood there, expression carved from stone, fingers clamped on the joint with effortless strength.
Andrew's legs gave out. He dropped to his knees so quickly the impact echoed. "Greetings, Grand Elder!"
Dennis saw the situation collapse and followed an instant later, forehead nearly touching the floor.
The grand elder's voice was quiet and lethal. "The two of you have the gall to walk into my workshop and start a fight. Does my face mean so little to you?"
Dennis kept his eyes on the ground. "Grand Elder, we were provoked. That outsider refused to treat us with the respect due to customers and began insulting us."
Jason's voice remained mild. "As if either of you walked through that door with honest intentions."
The grand elder's gaze moved from the two kneeling boys to the herb bed and back again. The conclusion he reached was visible in the tightening of his jaw.
"I have made it clear that violence inside this room is forbidden. You ignored that. Worse, you moved against a herb I have spent months nurturing. That alone is a serious offense."
Andrew's voice turned pleading. "It was only a joke, Grand Elder. We never intended to harm the plant."
Jason tilted his head, expression helpful. "I thought the two of you had already learned your lesson. Apparently you still have the courage to imply the grand elder is mistaken—or lying."
The grand elder's grip on Andrew's elbow increased. A sharp sound of pain escaped the younger man.
"You dare suggest I am a liar?"
"No!" Andrew gasped. "Grand Elder, I would never—"
Jason's voice stayed light. "Then what exactly did your words mean, if not that?"
Dennis's head snapped up, face twisted with rage. "Why are you making this worse for us?"
"I'm only repeating what everyone heard," Jason answered.
Dennis's eyes locked on Jason with open killing intent. "I hope you can still protect yourself once you're outside these walls."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop. The grand elder's free hand curled slowly at his side.
"You threaten my employee in front of me." His voice was almost soft. "It appears I have been far too lenient with the younger generation."
Dennis's face drained of color. "I spoke in anger, Grand Elder. The words meant nothing—"
"These words also leave my mouth in anger." The grand elder released Andrew's arm only long enough to seize the front of his robe and haul him upright. "Neither of you will receive a single pill from this room for one full year. If I learn that your families have supplied you with medicine to circumvent my order, the consequences will be theirs as well as yours."
He turned and threw Andrew bodily through the open doorway. Andrew hit the courtyard stones hard and rolled. Dennis did not wait for a second invitation; he scrambled after his friend, dragged him to his feet, and the two of them fled without looking back.
Jason watched them disappear, then turned and offered the grand elder a short, respectful bow.
"Thank you for the assistance, Grand Elder."
The old man let out a long, weary sigh and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Would it have killed you to keep your mouth shut for once?"
Jason met his eyes without flinching. "If I had stayed silent and let them do as they pleased, I would have died a thousand times over already. That's not an exaggeration."
The grand elder studied him for a moment, then shook his head and walked toward his usual seat beside the main furnace.
"Then pray that mouth of yours doesn't get you killed one day after all."
He sat, the matter clearly closed for now, while Jason remained standing in the quiet that followed the storm, the dense spiritual energy of the alchemy room settling around him once more.