Solo [Job Thread] Sea Slugs?

[Aoren]

40th of Summer, 513 AV
12th Bell

“How in Avalis name am I going to make that?”

Aoren scratched his head as he pondered on how to make the latest request placed by the Syliran Knighthood. He read over the petition order carefully. It called for over two dozen tinctures of Tulja Poultice. To date Aoren had no memory of ever making the medicine but he knew that Mistress Blackleaf had manuscripts in the workroom to help guide him through the steps of concocting the medicine. He stood there for a moment looking over the shelves of the shop. Aoren pondered on the task that lay ahead of him. He sighed shrugging his shoulders intent on getting to work.

“I’d better get started now. Who knows how long it’s going to take me to get this done.” He meandered into the back of the shop going immediately to the expansive bookshelf that his employer kept on the art of Philtering. Aoren scanned the shelves carefully as he brushed his fingers along the spines of each book until he found one that might be of use. It was thick. No doubt it was weighed down by the extensive knowledge contained within it. He hefted it from the shelf mindful of just how heavy the book would be and lumbered over to the worktable setting it down with a thud. Aoren opened the book gingerly. He had no desire to damage the spine or pages in any sort of way. Mistress Blackleaf would have his head if she found one of her books had been mishandled.

“Let’s see…” Placing his finger on the page he ran his finger down the rudimentary table of contents. He tapped the page with a nod when he’d found what he was looking for.
“Fundamental Poultices and Basic Medicines. That sounds about right.” He flipped through the pages of the tome for a few moments until he reached the desired section. From there Aoren knew that it would just be a matter of reading through each recipe so that he could arrive at the correct one. He placed both hands on either side of the large book scanning its pages with monk-like concentration until he finally found precisely the recipe he’d been looking for.

“Aha! Here we are.” Aoren read through the introductory description of the prescribed medicine.

“A thick paste made from a mixture of aquatic oozes and ground tropical tree roots. When applied to a fresh wound within an hour after injury, the pain is temporarily deadened and the healing process is increased. This paste may be reapplied every two hours until the wound is healed. This paste is only effective for minor injuries and while it can assist in the treatment of more serious injuries it will only work as a supplementary treatment. The following recipe is for a 4-dose vial…”

After reading through the introductory description of the poultice Aoren understood its practical application for the Knighthood. He assumed it would most likely be used during training exercises where Squires tended to get themselves into small amounts of trouble. Below the description there were drawings of plants he recognized and graphs denoting their appearance and where they could be found. Fortunately Mistress Blackleaf was the only universally recognized Apothecary in all of Syliras and her shop was well supplied out of both necessity and because of her skill. There would be no spelunking for Aoren today though he surmised that he might one day enjoy going out in search of herbs and ingredients for future recipes.

[Aoren]

“Preparatory Phase: Assemble the necessary tools.

1 Alembic
1 Mortar
1 Pestle
1 Burner
1 Knife
1 Cutter’s Board

”

Aoren looked up from the manual browsing over the tools scattered around the worktable. There was certainly no shortage of the things he would need to fashion the poultice. He stepped away from the book to bring the needed tools closer to the space where he would be working. Once they were assembled and in place he continued to read through the instructions.

“Alright let’s see here…what am I going to need for actual ingredients?” He clapped his hands together as his eyes scanned the page.

“The Muran Sea Slug possesses a numbing quality to its slime that is effective in the creation of this poultice. It can be found…” Aoren frowned. He was uncertain of what exactly the Muran Sea Slug was, let alone what it looked like. Mistress Blackleaf had a greenhouse attached to the shop where she grew a wide variety of plants used in her every day work. He wasn’t certain if this sea slug was a creature she kept in one of the handful of tanks also located in the greenhouse. Pinching the bridge of his nose he flipped the page and was relieved to see that there was a drawing of the slug accompanied by a brief caption so that he wouldn’t be lost trying to locate it. As he read the caption he realized that he was met with a dilemma. Aoren was far from experienced enough as an apothecary to dither about with sea slugs while he waited for them to produce enough slime to be useful. He chewed on his bottom lip for a moment while he deliberated on how to solve this problem.

Going to the greenhouse Aoren looked over the small tanks of leeches and other garden variety creatures kept there for every day use. When he arrived at the tank that contained the slug the book had described he furrowed his brow. They were all certainly alive and well.

“How am I going to…” That was when Aoren spotted a jar next to the tank. Inside was a very thick viscous material that could only be described as disgustingly unpleasant to the eye. The glass of the jar was inscribed with several runes that Aoren immediately recognized as Glyphs. He picked up the jar and grimaced as the jelly inside wiggled and bounced. The jar was obviously magical. He could feel the Djed buzzing at his fingertips. How it worked?

That was beyond Aoren’s skills in Glyphing to discern. He did realize that the magic of the Glyphs somehow acted as a preserving agent for the slime inside the jar. He made a mental not to inquire to Mistress Sahfri about how she went about purchasing the jar. He knew it would not have come cheap. Aoren opened the lid. The scent that wafted out of the container hit him lick a slap to the face. He gagged immediately closing the lid on the jar once the offensive smell intruded upon his nose. Aoren held the jar at arm’s length staring at it like it was some putrid creature.

[Aoren]

“Alright Aoren. Pull it together. You need this to complete the poultice.” With a distasteful look on his face he went back to the worktable setting the jar next to the book. For the next few minutes Aoren went about collecting the rest of the ingredients he needed to actually make the poultice. He made certain to grab enough to meet the demand of the Knighthood’s petition. He positioned four burners in a line and set the alembics on top of them. Grabbing four relatively new candles Aoren set them into the holders beneath the apparatus. This was always one of Aoren’s favorite parts. He stepped back from the worktable bringing his hands together at waist level. As easy as breathing he lowered the walls within his mind connected to his magic feeling for the burning drive deep inside of himself.

When he found it he let his Res collect in his right hand. It was a small amount. No bigger than a miza. Once that was done he easily separated the layers of Res into two distinct parts. He spread the Res so that it coated his index finger then grabbed the first alembic lifting it up. With a flick of his thoughts he ignited the outer most layer of the Res so that it appeared as if his finger were swathed in azure blue flame.

Extending only his burning finger he touched the wick of each candle lighting them with ease. Once he was finished he allowed the fire around his finger to dissipate and his spell to be broken. Aoren then proceeded to pour water into the alembics so that each would rise to a boil at the same time. It was only as an afterthought that he realized he probably should have put water into each container before lighting the candles.

With the water for the paste being prepared Aoren set to work on mixing the ingredients. He spooned the repugnant slime into a bowl then added stint green leaves which helped to alleviate the repulsive odor but would also contribute to the treatment of the injuries by producing a cool refreshing sensation over the skin it is applied to. For the next bell or so Aoren kept working diligently on the poultice. He mashed and ground the leaves, the slime and a little bit of Sky Twine for scent added with the water to keep the mixture from becoming lumpy and he was finished.

With a steady hand he filled several the necessary tinctures to accommodate the order placed by the Knighthood. When he was finished and the bowl of paste was mostly empty he bottled what was left so that it could be sold on the shop’s shelves. He then went to the shop’s ledger and made a note that more vials, tinctures and bottles would need to be ordered to supplement the amount he’d just used.

“Well Aoren, with the exception of the numbness in your hands and the stench all over your clothes…” He looked down at where he’d spilled some of the concoction onto his pants, the stains on his hands and the blotches on his shirt. “…I’d say you did pretty well for yourself.” With a nod he blew out the candles then set about washing the tools he’d used. While there was still plenty of work to be done around the shop he felt very accomplished for the day. It looked as if his progress as an apprentice apothecary was going quite nicely.

[Emblem]

Congratulations! You Get Glorious Experience! Aoren Skill Points Earned Philtering 2 XP Medicine 2 XP Herbalism 1 XP Lore Earned Recipe: Tulja Poultice Other Shenanigans: Comments : Good work Aoren, shoot me a PM with any questions or concerns.