Six buildings explode. Four lives up in smoke. Fire ravages the Pillared Circle neighborhood, plundering its cookshops and evening courtyards. The village's shock worsens upon the discovery of four bodies amidst the destruction. In the aftermath, a brave witness raises the alarm: He saw green fire climbing the wall as he ran to safety. Lady Azadiya fears an alchemist is responsible and reassigns her agent, Ibram Ucalegon, from recovery work to investigate. He soon realizes a callous mastermind lies behind this deadly crime, intent on reaping their reward no matter the cost. As the body count rises amongst the suspects, rich and poor alike, Ibram soon realizes only Lady Azadiya can solve this deadly equation: How much money does it take to ignite a tragedy?

Sticks and stones might break bones, but poison ends any argument Ibram Ucalegon visits fabric merchant Einar Savoldyn's manor to escape the living mountain while Lady Azadiya (the Empire of Vissilia's worst convalescent) recovers from a spot of alchemically induced blindness. Unfortunately for the agent, the man dies moments after their meeting. Now Ibram's got a murder to unravel, a parcel of rival relatives to sort through, and an uncle who blocks his every attempt to tell Lady Azadiya what's going on...and who's a little too friendly with the newly made widow. He'll have to work fast before this case gets stitched up! The Elixir of Inheritance is the second book in The Alchemist's Agent series, a fantastical mystery set in the Golden Age of the Empire of Vissilia. Each novel is a standalone story, but fans of alternate worlds, audacious detective stories, and intrepid alchemists will want to read the entire series!

One dead blacksmithOne missing witnessOne agent with a very big problemWhen an itinerant blacksmith dies in the village of Fontis, Ibram Ucalegon is sent to report back on the unattended death. No one thinks much about it. Hard-living old men die all the time, after all, and little changes except the name in the record of testimony.But when Rustam Monbrith, the man who found the deceased, suddenly disappears on the day of the inquiry, the circuit court judge invokes an ancient and deadly punishment from Vissilia's war-torn past: If the First Finder is not returned, then the entire village will pay the price.Now, Rustam's pretty sister begs the Sect of Seven Fires for aid and Lady Azadiya is looking very carefully into Ibram's future as one of her agents. Did Ibram sign off on a natural death, when the verdict should have been murder? Or is Rustam Monbrith hiding some other secret?