Solo Back To Basics

[Nira'lia]

504 Spring 5th “What is this?” Nira’lia had a flask in her hand. A strange, pinkish liquid filled it. When she brought it up to her nose, she was met with a powerful, sweet smell. The scent itself was familiar, but at the moment, she couldn’t identify it. It appeared to be mixed with alcohol as well. Bringing it away from her nose, she continued to scrutinize it. Her face was knitted to a confused expression as she impatiently waited for Cecilia’s response. Her older sister, Cecilia, was seated on the wooden floor. Several other flasks and jars surrounded her. The containers varied in size and shape and contained different mixtures in them. Some of the mixtures had pieces of leaves or petals in them. Nira’lia didn’t appreciate the overall scent of the room, and she wished that her older sister could put lids or corks on all the containers. Curiosity had gotten the better of her and she had grasped for the nearest flash, and now she was asking Cecilia about its contents. “It’s a rose tincture. These are all tinctures.” “What are tinctures made of again?” Cecilia made a face as she inspected an empty jar. “They’re solutions made from plants or animals. How can you not know this? You work with medicine all the time.” Shrugging, Nira’lia leaned down and placed the flask back with the others. She sat down on the ground as well and started to examine the other containers on random. “I know what tinctures are for; I just never really knew what they’re made of. Curiously… if we mix two of these, do we get both their properties?” “Well, yes, that can be done,” replied Cecilia. Blinking, the older Konti looked to the window. The sun was still out, but it was clear that evening was soon approaching. “Could you do me a favor, Nira? Could you go over to Marcel's Magical Supplies and get me a philtering kit? We have some valerian, and I wanted to make a tincture out of it as well.” “We don’t have a Philtering Kit?” asked Nira’lia, confused. There were quite a number of liquids before them, and she knew that there were lots of other potions and elixirs in the cottage as well. It seemed impractical not to have a kit when a family of Konti healers lived there. “No, we don’t… K’mara purchased these at the market. I don’t know how to make them either, but I have the basic idea. We can learn together.” That caught Nira’lia’s attention. She wanted to learn how to make these as well, as they seemed useful. Philtering seemed to be a pragmatic skill, a skill that would be valuable to know. “Okay, I’ll go purchase a kit. Is there anything else we need?” Cecilia shook her head, which Nira’lia chose as her cue to go. She stood up and brushed off her skirt, and then fetched some mizas from the counter. With that, she was out the door and walking towards the direction of Marcel’s Magical Supplies. As she walked, she wondered why a philtering kit would be available at a magical shop. Perhaps it was also possible to combine it with magical properties? Scanning her memories, she recalled K’mara, her other sister, telling her that Gnosis effects could be placed in certain mixtures when one was more versed in philtering. And if it could be combined with Gnosis effects, the chances of it being augmented with more mundane magic were there as well. That made sense to her, but she reminded herself to ask more once she got back home.

[Nira'lia]

The shop was located near the University, which was not too far from their home. The Konti liked to walk, and as such as she did not mind running this chore. By now, she was very familiar with the streets of Zeltiva and she knew which shortcuts to take. It did not take her a long time to finally arrive at the unassuming building that held the shop. The Konti pushed the door open and made her way inside. As she entered, she saw that there were no customers in the shop. The first room was middle-sized and had very simple furnishings. Shelves and cases held materials, most of which she did not really care for. The Konti was not familiar with magic, and while she knew that Zeltivans were more accepting of mages and that the University held a number of students learning magic, she simply had no interest in the field. A woman who had been sitting behind a desk stood up and approached her. As she put her hand out to shake Nira’lia’s, she asked, “How may I help you?” The Konti looked out at the outstretched hand. “I’ve got a cold, I wouldn’t want you to catch it, I’m sorry,” she lied. Activating her Konti gift would not be necessary. The shopkeeper put her hand back down and Nira’lia asked, “I need a philtering kit.” “Oh, yes, we have a few with us. The going price would be a hundred and fifty golden mizas,” the woman replied. She started to rummage in the shelves and brought out a simple-looking pack. It was leather in material and simple on the eyes. When the woman walked over to the table sitting in the middle of the room, the Konti followed her. The woman opened the pack to display its contents. It contained various bottles and jars, similar to those that were sitting in their home. Also included were tools that were meant for the production of simple potions. Nira’lia took out a total of a hundred and fifty golden mizas and handed them over to the woman. Finally, she was ready to head back home, new philtering kit in hand. ledger : + Philtering Kit - 150 GM

[Nira'lia]

When she arrived back at their house, she saw that K’mara was back as well. K’mara and Cecilia were sprawled on the floor. Opened books surrounded them, as well as an assortment of leaves that Nira’lia did not recognize. When Nira’lia entered the house , K’mara appeared to be jotting down on one of the books and Cecilia was twirling the leaves in her hands. As soon as they noticed Nira’lia’s arrival, Cecilia raised her hands in exasperation. “Finally!” Cecilia exclaimed. K’mara sat up straight and put her quill down. “I was only gone for a few chimes!” insisted Nira’lia, clearly agitated. She placed the leather pack on the ground and took a seat beside K’mara, attempting to get a look at what her sister had been writing. Confused, she saw nothing but an amateur drawing of a little Konti girl lazing on the beach. The girl was drastically non-proportional, and Nira’lia couldn’t help but think that she could make a better sketch. “Since you took so long, why don’t you note down the recipe for us, Nira?” asked K’mara sweetly. At this, Cecilia couldn’t help but snicker. It was as if K’mara could sense that Nira’lia was criticizing her drawing. Annoyed, Nira’lia muttered something under her breath but complied. Her older sister handed her the quill and the book, and started to dictate to her the necessary ingredients. Items needed to make herbal tinctures: Dried or fresh herbs. Spirits of wine, ale, or vinegar. “We also needs jars, and something to label them—” “I’m not writing that down. That’s obvious,” said Nira’lia stubbornly. “Alright, then don’t write that down…” answered K’mara with much patience. Although she liked to pick on her younger sister, she was always the more tolerant one. At this point, Cecilia began to cut up the leaves that she had been playing with. “Let’s list down the steps then. Don’t worry, Nira, tinctures are really simple to make. You won’t be writing down a lot.” Nira’lia shrugged and listened patiently as she wrote down what her sister dictated. Steps: 1. Cut up the herbs to smaller pieces, ideally a thumb’s length and width. 2. Place herbs into a glass jar and pour slowly pour in the spirit until the herbs are completely covered. Place the container in a cool and dry area and shake each day. 3. After around forty to fifty days, pour the liquid into a new container. Use a cloth to separate the leaves from the tincture. 4. Squeeze the herbs in order to extract as much liquid as possible. “That’s it?” asked Nira’lia skeptically. She looked at K’mara, expecting to hear more. When K’mara said nothing more, Nira’lia inquired, “How are we supposed to know how much herbs to place in? Also, how do you know this is correct… have you done this?” Cecilia made a noise that her two sisters ignored. K’mara said, “The jar should appear full of the herbs, but when you shake it, they should still have room to move… does that make sense? And no, I have never tried to make them myself, but I’ve seen it done.” Nira’lia shrugged once more as she noted down K’mara’s statement about the amount of herbs to be used per jar. She wrote it as a side note, write next to the steps. Her handwriting was squiggly but readable, and she felt satisfied with her penmanship.

[Nira'lia]

“That is all there is to it,” said K’mara. Nira’lia put her attention to the leaves that Cecilia was cutting up. It was then that she realized that these were the Valerian that Cecilia had mentioned before. The leaves were thin and short and sprouted from skinny stalks, and all Cecilia was really doing was separating the leaves from its stems. She placed them in a bowl that was in front of her. Nira’lia saw that she had taken a pair of scissors from the leather pack that she had brought home. Finally, when Cecilia was done, she handed the bowl to Nira’lia. “You listened to K’mara… I wasn’t really paying attention. Please make the tincture, then,” said Cecilia. With her two sisters watching her like that, Nira’lia felt awkward and conscious. She hated it when they did this; it was as if they judged her every move. It always felt like they were testing her. Being the youngest one, and a Konti who was barely an adult, they still treated her like a child. There was an assortment of containers in the philtering kit she had purchased. She took jar that looked sizeable enough to hold the leaves that Cecilia had handed to her. Painfully aware of being watched, Nira’lia proceeded to stuff the leaves into the container. Thinking that the tincture would work better with as much leaves, she started to push the leaves to the bottom. “Well, don’t be rough now…” said K’mara softly. “You don’t want to damage the leaves even before we start.” “Alright,” conceded Nira’lia. She tried again in a gentler manner. The youngest Konti started to simply place the leaves in without pushing them down. ‘I see… if I do it this way, and the solvent is included, then the leaves would have more room to move… just like K’mara said before,’ realized Nira’lia. She was always happy when she arrived at these things on her own. And then she wondered if K’mara had simply refrained from telling her this. Perhaps her older sister wanted her to learn on her own as well? She filled the jar up until the leaves reached the lid, though because she didn’t push them down to the bottom, it could be seen that there was a lot of room left for the solvent. “We need the vinegar!” said Nira’lia, louder than she intended to. The leaves had been placed in the jar and the next step was to pour in the spirits. “We have vinegar, yes? Where is it?” “We have ale,” corrected Cecilia as she stood up to fetch some from the dining table. There was a half-empty bottle of ale simply sitting there. Cecilia came back and handed the bottle to Nira’lia. She didn’t sit back down, instead she just stood there, her shadow looming over Nira’lia. Nira’lia popped the ale open, scrunching her nose at its smell. She hated that scent. Blinking, she looked up at K’mara and asked, “Vinegar, ale, wine… don’t they have different alcohol content? Wouldn’t that matter?” “That is correct, the higher the alcohol content, and the better. That is why we prefer to use ale to vinegar,” replied K’mara absently. Noting that down in her mind, Nira’lia proceeded to pour the ale into the jar. As it started to fill up, the leaves swam apart, and she could see how much room there was left. Just like K’mara had said, this was what was preferred.

[Nira'lia]

Nira’lia filled the jar to brim. Once she was satisfied, she sealed it with the cap. With a huge grin, the young Konti put the jar up to the light and examined it. She shook it and saw the leaves swim around the jar. Perfect. She watched as K’mara took the quill and started to jot down on a brown, paper tag that had a string attached to it. ‘Valerian’ was all she wrote on the tag before she took the jar from Nira’lia and proceeded to loop the string around the jar’s lid. Next, all they needed to do was to store it in a cool or dry place. In this house, that meant the cupboard that was filled with the other herbal concoctions. Excitedly, she stood up and rushed over to the cupboard. She placed it on the top shelf, near the back. “Don’t forget to shake it at least once every day,” K’mara reminded her. She was now engrossed in a new book and no longer seemed interested in anything else. Cecilia had sat down on the floor again and was rearranging the other containers. “Why do you know how to make those?” asked Nira’lia curiously. She was aware that neither K’mara nor Cecilia were philterers, something which Cecilia had admitted beforehand. ‘Now that I think about it, Cecilia said we’d learn together, but I did most of the work…’ thought Nira’lia bitterly. “I used to watch it being done before,” was K’mara’s vague response. “Where?” “Back in Sunberth,” she finally divulged. Now Nira’lia knew why she was being stingy with her explanations. “The Konti are known to be skilled in herbal concoctions, and I used to watch some of our sisters make these.” “Used to watch them being ordered to make these, you mean,” muttered Cecilia. Nira’lia instantly felt guilty for pushing for answers. She had memories about their life back in Sunberth, and they were not good. And when K’mara referred to their ‘sisters’, she was referring to those who had been sold to others and were never heard of again. “Well, do you know how to make anything else?” asked Nira’lia curiously. She plopped down beside K’mara and peered at the book she was reading. It was a novel, and since K’mara was already halfway done with it, she couldn’t understand what she was looking at. “Maybe you can teach me how to make other simple things aside from tinctures? What else do you know?” “I know how to make lip balm.” Nira’lia frowned. Lip balm seemed like a silly thing to make. “I know how to make salves, creams,” continued K’mara. “Well, I not exactly, but I know the general process. It shouldn’t be too difficult to figure out.” That satisfied Nira’lia. She had found it enjoyable to make the tincture, and she knew she would be making more of those know that was aware of the process. Next time, she was going to make K’mara teach her other recipes.

[Echelon]

Adventurer's Loot A Gift Experience is its own reward. Nira'lia's Loot : Nira'lia Skill XP Reward Subterfuge +1XP Organization +1XP Socialization +1XP Philtering +2XP Lore: Overwhelming Scent Deliberate Training White Lie Production of Tinctures Items or Consequences: Philtering Kit -150gm Notes: Repetition is good for memorizing, though using the same information repeatedly in training threads won't win new XP as quickly. A simple lie to the merchant, but subterfuge none the less. Organization for struggling with writing down the steps. (Do you have siblings yourself? It's sure fun seeing a bunch of Konti bicker and work together. We don't really have paper bags in Mizahar.) - if you have ANY questions or concerns about this grading, please PM me.