Poison in the Forest
Evening, Day 66, Summer 511 AV
Irriari stared at the fire that had taken her a bell to start. In the colony, slaves started and maintained the few fires for the communal areas, so the flint that Sevrai had insisted she take inside the bottom of her quiver had remained largely unused. Now, she simply had to make a poison out of the reagents she had purchased at the Black Tar. Irriari allowed herself to think on the chapters that the woman in the street had read about philtering. She would have to use the alembic to philter out the alcohol in the wine, and then incorporate the Blissbane leaves, Makari plant and Zarent Herb Oil.
Irriari uncorked the bottle of wine and slowly poured it into the tiny hole in the alembic. Some of the wine missed the hole and poured down the sides of the alembic onto the ground. Irriari cursed, and pulled the bottle upward and corked it. Gauging the amount of alcohol left in the bottle, Irriari guessed the she could make three more four dose vials if the alcohol was only philtered once. If it was philtered twice, she would only be able to make one and a half four dose vials. For now, she decided, she would only distill the alcohol once before incorporating the ingredients.
Before she boiled the alcohol, Irriari decided to plan the mixture she would use for this batch. After a few moments of contemplation, the zith decided to use half blissbane leaves, a quarter portion of oil and a quarter portion of crushed roots. For the most part, after the leaves were crushed into a fine powder with her mortar and pestle, it was simple to compare the proportions of powder via vials, but the oil tended to be more tricky, as it was a highly concentrated blend of powders and roots.
Irriari pulled out her mortar and pestle and grabbed the blissbanes leaves and placed them inside. With the pestle, she ground the leaves together into a small ball and proceeded to crush them against the stone bowl until the dried leaves began to break apart. Now, she simply had to grind them over and over for 15 chimes until no big pieces were left. Irriari alternated a grinding circular pattern with short jabs for ten chimes, and then, for the final 5, she used the other end of the pestle to mix the powder. Carefully, Irriari used a small scrap of parchment to collect and funnel the powder into a clean vial for later use.
After Irriari cleaned the remnants of the powder out of mortar with dirt, she rinsed the whole thing with water from her waterskin. Irriari tore the roots off of the dried Makari plant and crushed them into a powder as she had did with the leaves. The process was faster due to the curved nature of the roots. In 8 chimes, the powder was ready to be transferred, and Irriari dug a hole in the ground to bury the first scrap before retrieving another. Once, she had thrown a small paper into a fire, and a mixture of oil and powder had erupted into the flames and contaminated the air, poisoning both her and Sevrai for four hours.
Finally, Irriari was ready to philter the alcohol and prep the mixture for her poison.
Irriari held the alembic over the flame, ignoring the heat that rose up from the fire. The alcohol would hopefully begin boiling soon, and then, the alcohol within the mixture would rise up and disperse into the second chamber of the alembic. After fifteen minutes with no boiling, Irriari realized that the alembic was too far from flame. She adjusted her grip on the glassware and held it with her fingertips as she lowered it into the flame. She grimaced as the heat enveloped the ends of her fingers, but the mixture was starting to boil. After nine chimes, no more gas was rising from the first chamber so Irriari set the alembic on the ground, and sank her fingers into the cool soil as the pure alcohol settled at the bottom of the chamber.
After the glass was cool, and her fingers weren't throbbing as badly, Irriari corked one end of the alembic and poured the alcohol into a larger vial that had a flattened bottom. Next, she pulled the vials of blissbane powder, Makari powder and Zarent Herb oil. Irriari opened the first of the vials and poured a quarter of it into the alcohol and watched as the powder floated on the top. Next, she did the same with the second powder. The oil was more difficult, and Irriari tried to control the vial at an angle that allowed her to pour exactly five drops into the glassware. It ended up being 6, but she doubted it would affect the mixture too much.
After capping the mixture, Irriari shook it for an agonizing thirty chimes and stared at the mixture she had created. It would need to be shaken every 3 bells for another day, and then it would be done. Irriari packed up her kit slowly as she considered the uses of philtering in the recipes she already used. After all of her tools were accounted for, she began the walk back to her room, vowing to spend the next day searching for someone who could read what had been written on the scroll.
Evening, Day 66, Summer 511 AV
Irriari stared at the fire that had taken her a bell to start. In the colony, slaves started and maintained the few fires for the communal areas, so the flint that Sevrai had insisted she take inside the bottom of her quiver had remained largely unused. Now, she simply had to make a poison out of the reagents she had purchased at the Black Tar. Irriari allowed herself to think on the chapters that the woman in the street had read about philtering. She would have to use the alembic to philter out the alcohol in the wine, and then incorporate the Blissbane leaves, Makari plant and Zarent Herb Oil.
Irriari uncorked the bottle of wine and slowly poured it into the tiny hole in the alembic. Some of the wine missed the hole and poured down the sides of the alembic onto the ground. Irriari cursed, and pulled the bottle upward and corked it. Gauging the amount of alcohol left in the bottle, Irriari guessed the she could make three more four dose vials if the alcohol was only philtered once. If it was philtered twice, she would only be able to make one and a half four dose vials. For now, she decided, she would only distill the alcohol once before incorporating the ingredients.
Before she boiled the alcohol, Irriari decided to plan the mixture she would use for this batch. After a few moments of contemplation, the zith decided to use half blissbane leaves, a quarter portion of oil and a quarter portion of crushed roots. For the most part, after the leaves were crushed into a fine powder with her mortar and pestle, it was simple to compare the proportions of powder via vials, but the oil tended to be more tricky, as it was a highly concentrated blend of powders and roots.
Irriari pulled out her mortar and pestle and grabbed the blissbanes leaves and placed them inside. With the pestle, she ground the leaves together into a small ball and proceeded to crush them against the stone bowl until the dried leaves began to break apart. Now, she simply had to grind them over and over for 15 chimes until no big pieces were left. Irriari alternated a grinding circular pattern with short jabs for ten chimes, and then, for the final 5, she used the other end of the pestle to mix the powder. Carefully, Irriari used a small scrap of parchment to collect and funnel the powder into a clean vial for later use.
After Irriari cleaned the remnants of the powder out of mortar with dirt, she rinsed the whole thing with water from her waterskin. Irriari tore the roots off of the dried Makari plant and crushed them into a powder as she had did with the leaves. The process was faster due to the curved nature of the roots. In 8 chimes, the powder was ready to be transferred, and Irriari dug a hole in the ground to bury the first scrap before retrieving another. Once, she had thrown a small paper into a fire, and a mixture of oil and powder had erupted into the flames and contaminated the air, poisoning both her and Sevrai for four hours.
Finally, Irriari was ready to philter the alcohol and prep the mixture for her poison.
Irriari held the alembic over the flame, ignoring the heat that rose up from the fire. The alcohol would hopefully begin boiling soon, and then, the alcohol within the mixture would rise up and disperse into the second chamber of the alembic. After fifteen minutes with no boiling, Irriari realized that the alembic was too far from flame. She adjusted her grip on the glassware and held it with her fingertips as she lowered it into the flame. She grimaced as the heat enveloped the ends of her fingers, but the mixture was starting to boil. After nine chimes, no more gas was rising from the first chamber so Irriari set the alembic on the ground, and sank her fingers into the cool soil as the pure alcohol settled at the bottom of the chamber.
After the glass was cool, and her fingers weren't throbbing as badly, Irriari corked one end of the alembic and poured the alcohol into a larger vial that had a flattened bottom. Next, she pulled the vials of blissbane powder, Makari powder and Zarent Herb oil. Irriari opened the first of the vials and poured a quarter of it into the alcohol and watched as the powder floated on the top. Next, she did the same with the second powder. The oil was more difficult, and Irriari tried to control the vial at an angle that allowed her to pour exactly five drops into the glassware. It ended up being 6, but she doubted it would affect the mixture too much.
After capping the mixture, Irriari shook it for an agonizing thirty chimes and stared at the mixture she had created. It would need to be shaken every 3 bells for another day, and then it would be done. Irriari packed up her kit slowly as she considered the uses of philtering in the recipes she already used. After all of her tools were accounted for, she began the walk back to her room, vowing to spend the next day searching for someone who could read what had been written on the scroll.
