GillianRainaJoaoTeaAndGhosts2Gillian Raina Joao Tea and Ghosts 2“’Yes’ would be a good place to start,” Seabhac replied. “To noodles, I mean. And I promise we’ll tour a few spiritual locations as well. You can call it a ‘research trip.’” A vulpine grin warmed his features, “We can buy a new katana for Uncle Benedict while we’re there. If you we win him over, the rest of the family will be too scared to say anything. Not that I’d let them anyway.” He realized that they were still holding hands and blushed. “So. . .” he said, not sure how to continue. Gillian let go of his hands and wiped her own self-consciously on her skirts. "Um...yes, then. Noodles and a research trip sound...nice. Thank you." She smiled fleetingly and picked up the scales again. "Shall we return to the others?" she asked. He offered her his arm, “Yes. Let’s.” His smile grew larger as they walked back to the other two. Joao finished speaking with Raina as Seabhac and Gillian drew up to him. His eyes only briefly alighted on the scales that Gillian carried. His gaze flickered between Seabhac and Gillian. To force down the fears he had vocalized to Raina, he remembered to smile broadly, in return. "It is good to have such friends as each other, Da?" Joao replied. "Yes," Gillian agreed. "If you're both done with tea, Seabhac has generously offered to allow us to finish making the salve here in his laboratory." "Yes," Raina smiled, happy to change whatever subject she and Joao had been discussing. She seemed reluctant to release Joao's hand however. If anything, she held it tighter as she rose. Joao nodded, rising smoothly with Raina, hands clasped. Seabhac grinned, “Well, the lab is all yours then. I’ll get out of your hair for now. Unless anyone is against baked trout, I’ll send word to the castle and have dinner started. The staff will be ecstatic that I’m finally having guests. If you’ll excuse me.” He touched Gillian’s shoulder and headed for the door. The touch sent a shiver down her spine that ended in a strange sensation in her belly. She watched him walk away from the corner of her eye. "*Baked* trout?" Joao shook his head. "I still think that seafood is best prepared raw. Or, if it must be cooked, then the proper way to prepare it is as a seviche. But I suspect that cuisine served by such as our host will be edible, da? Shall we three busily get to work so that we might eat in the surety of having already accomplished our academic task?" Gillian startled and turned her attention back to her students. "Yes, that sounds like an excellent idea. Also, the fresher the components, the stronger the salve. So let's get to work." Joao nodded. She set the scales down and rubbed her hands together. "All right... Let's take a moment to review. As you know, we are in the process of creating Malachite's Blood. This salve has medicinal uses, healing burned and necrotic tissue. Now while there is an easier version that contains more common components, we're attempting to create the more effective version with the less common components--namely, Skartarian blade-wyrm scales," Gillian indicated the package beside her, " and Corilaine night-wolf fur." Gillian motioned to Raina's clothing. Raina, meanwhile, was meticulously picking the fur off her clothing and placing it into a glass beaker. She did not wish to waste even a single hair. "Joao, can you tell me the difference between a salve and an oil?" [Gillian asked.] Raina looked up briefly, but as the question was directed to Joao, she went back to examining her clothing while he answered. "Da" Joao said, giving Raina and her fur gathering a glance before turning to Gillian. "An oil is a substance which is liquid at room temperatures, which is not miscible with water. Oils can be either mineral, plant or animal in their essential nature." "A salve, on the other hand, is a semisolid preparation, an ointment, which sometimes has an oil at its base." Joao added. "If not an oil, then it almost certainly has a solid fat as its base." Gillian nodded. "Exactly right. Raina, which oils and solid fats are commonly used for salves?" A look of relief splashed across Joao's face like a spray of tidewater across a rocky beach. "Extra-virgin olive oil is often used as a base for infused herbal oils," Raina responded. "The herbs that are infused into them vary based on the purpose of the salve. The thickening agent is generally beeswax." "Correct." Gillian beamed at Raina. "The first step will be to grind the scales and fur and a bit of oil together with mortar and pestle," she continued as she opened the package containing the scales. Gillian looked them over and shook her head. "We have a small problem, though. These scales are fresh and have a high water content and water will spoil the salve. Any suggestions for drying the scales?" Gillian looked at them both. Joao looked pensive for what felt like an eternity. Although she wasn't doing it intentionally, Gillian's stare reminded him of more than one or two of the professors at Faiella University. Finally, he exhaled, looked at Raina for strength and then regarded Gillian again. "Da." Joao said. "Given the amount of time we have tonight, a relatively rapid speed of drying would be indicated. I can think of two methods." "One would be to use a gentle indirect heating of the scales in order to cause the liquid to evaporate. We would need to be careful to avoid charring the scales." "The second method." Joao took a breath again "would be to use an agent such as dry epsom salt. Immersing the scales in dry epsom salt, in an airtight container, would cause the salt to absorb all of the liquid in the scales." Gillian nodded. "You also have a specialty in water magic, do you not?" she asked him. "Could you remove the water...?" Raina looked up at him encouragingly. The look from Raina helped steel Joao. A deep breath, a squeeze of Raina's hand, and finally spoke. "I do not yet know the Art of Ruling Water." Joao said apologetically. "I might be able to do a drying cantrip to remove the water from the scales, although it would not be quite as effective as something an Apprentice might be able to do." "Shall I try?" Joao added, looking from Gillian, to Raina and back again, addressing the both of his lab partners equally. "Yes. Try on a small portion first," Gillian suggested. Raina nodded eagerly. "Papa always says learning cannot happen if you don't stretch yourself," she encouraged. Raina's support seemed to break the ice dam that held the last remaining doubts evident on Joao's face. He took a deep breath, smiled to Raina, and nodded as he returned his gaze to the expectant Gillian. "Da" he said. "Give me a portion of the scales, Gillian. A small portion. I will try a cantrip to remove the water. If it fails, we still have most to use more mundane methods of drying them." Gillian separated away a small bit of the scales for Joao and stood back. Joao closed his eyes. He could do this. Raina believed in him. Rusalka would believe in him. In a sense, he reflected, Gillian believed in him enough to give him the chance at the attempt.** He could do this. He would do this. The ritual magic was small, easy, and relatively simple. Joao spoke the words of the spell and moved his hands in a sinuous fashion, raising his hands in flowing fashion, from his waist to above his head. And, as the spell completed, all of the water in the small portion of the scales rose up as a puff of steam, drying the scales in the process. The water vapor dissipated in the air, leaving the scales as dry as Gillian could have wished for. "I couldn't destroy the water, of course." Joao said. "I simply directed the water to take on its vapor state. A cantrip. Da, as I said, it was the way to do it." "Now. Give me a moment, and perhaps a drink of water." Joao said. "And I will do the rest." "Very good effort, Joao," Gillian commended him. "Here are the rest when you are ready, and if you can perform the same cantrip on the the fur it''ll make it easier to combine with the scales." "Da. Thank you." Joao said, nodding his head to Gillian. "Yes, I will do the scales now, and then try the same ritual on the fur. And then I will definitely need water. A tall glass of water." "Oh! I'll get it," Raina started, Joao's request finally cutting through her fascination with the effects of his spell. She scampered off to look for water and a tall glass to put it in. "Thank you." Joao said thickly. When Raina returns with the water, Gillian takes Joao's drinking break to talk to them about the rest of the process. "After the components are dried, we will need to grind them to release their alchemical properties. We will do this with mortar and pestle and just enough oil to make a paste--only a few drops will be needed." Gillian paused here, and a secret smile grew on her face. Joao cocked his head. "Most mortar and pestles at the university for student use are either marble or brass--neither substance is reactive and will not taint the preparation, as you know. However...I have a theory that we will get better results if we use a mortar and pestle that is of a kind to the substance being ground in it. Both the scales and fur are animal, and I happened to notice that Seabhac has an ivory mortar and pestle... " She walked over to a nearby shelf where a number of mortar and pestles were stored and brought over one the color of old bone. "Raina, after Joao has finished drying the scales and is tackling the fur, you can start grinding the scales. In an ideal world we would use an animal oil too, rather than olive oil. Unfortunately, animal oils are hardly neutral, and the steps necessary to neutralize an animal oil for our purposes is beyond our expertise, so olive oil it is. Use only a few drops as you grind, just enough to form a paste." Joao smiled. "What about a whale oil, perhaps?" Raina asked. "They tend to be less viscous than other mammal oils, hence the reason they are often used in lamps. I'm not certain of their neutrality though." She began filling the mortar with the dry ingredients. "As Gillian undoubtedly knows of course." Joao said. "Whale oil is really considered to be a form of wax. I defer to her greater knowledge of such reagents and their suitability." Joao added modestly, returning to the task of drying out the fur and scales with his cantrip. He took frequent sips of the water and glanced at his lab partners now and again as he worked. Gillian looked up a the ceiling pensively, considering options. After a moment she nodded. "The whale oil isn't a bad idea, Raina. Let's try it, assuming we can find some." A brief search turned up the substance in a tightly sealed jar. Gillian opened the lid, sniffed at the contents, shrugged, and handed the jar to Raina. "You may need to add just a little heat to encourage the scales and fur to give up their alchemical goodness..." Raina took the jar and peered inside, sniffing delicately. She nodded appreciatively. "It's good quality," she said with a merchant's eye. She dutifully took the jar and the other ingredients around the table to a burner and turned the heat on low. Carefully, she added the ingredients bit by bit, poking them periodically with a narrow wooden stirrer so they would not burn. Finished with his cantrip, Joao positioned himself so that he could get a good view of Raina's part of the procedure, giving her a reassuring smile of support. He watched, rapt and interested. Noticing his gaze, Raina smiled happily and continued to poke at the ingredients. "Heat gently just until the whale fat has completed liquified," Gillian said, watching. "Then mash it all in the ivory mortar and pestle. Joao, you can do the same for your scales when Raina is finished with her fur. "Da" Joao said. "I will watch Raina's technique." he agreed and then let Gillian continue. "When you're done with the scales, takes turns mashing them together. You can transfer the finished result to the glass dish beside you. It should be the consistency of a paste and have an even texture. If it starts getting too thick you can add some more whale oil. Take care that it doesn't get too thin, for fixing that condition is much harder. "Now, the last component we need to bring this all together is the catalyst..." As Raina and Joao worked, Gillian went searching through the lab looking for rose quartz crystals or stones. Strangely enough, she found a collection of crystals almost immediately, sitting in a bowl little more than an arm's length away. They were of high quality and rested upon a bed of dried rosemary to maintain their spiritual energies. None of the group could recall it being there a moment ago. "Oh, now there's a basket of beauties..." Gillian smiled to herself. "She is far more skilled than either of us in these matters." Joao said quietly to Raina. "We are learning much, da?" "Oh yes!" Raina whispered with an eager nod. She peered into her beaker and continued to stir. Gillian, oblivious to the comments, placed the bowl on the table near where Raina and Joao could see it while they worked. She picked up each piece of crystal, inspecting it and holding it up to a small sphere of bright white light that she'd conjured. "Here we go!" she exclaimed when she found the one that met her criteria. She held it up for Raina and Joao to see. It was a carbochon piece of rose quartz, pale pink and transparent, and when she placed it in front of her conjured light source, a six-pointed asterism appeared deep in the crystal. "This will be perfect. So how are you two doing?" Raina stood on tiptoe and peered over the top of her beaker one last time. "I believe it's nearly done," she assessed. "What do you think?" She looked to both her lab partners for their opinions. "Looking good," Gillian said. Joao peered at the beaker, as if it were a deck of tarot cards that held the future in the topmost card. He waited a moment before nodding and turning to Gillian. "I think we've just about made the paste ready for the glass dish." He took the pestle and mashed the scales three more times. "Da, I think that will do it. We're ready, Gillian" He smiled to Raina and maneuvered so that she could spread out the paste in the dish as he scooped it out with the pestle. Once the scale and fur concoctions had been thoroughly mixed together in the glass dish, Gillian picked up the dish and held it for Raina and Joao to see. The resulting mixture was dirty brown in color and the consistency of lard. "As you both know from basic alchemy, a catalyst is a substance that causes or accelerates an alchemical reaction without itself being consumed. In this case we're going to use rose quartz because of its associations with purity and healing. White light shining through the crystal will become imbued with those properties and transmit them to whatever is in its path--in this case, our concoction." Joao nodded. "Da. That makes sense." He smiled to Raina and turned to look attentive once more to Gillian. Gillian held up the rose quartz in her other hand and smiled. "The presence of the asterism I showed you indicates that light shining through the stone will be focused, rather than dispersed--much like a stream of water as opposed to a spray of water. When our concoction is held in the light passing through, it should be transformed into our final product--a translucent salve with a slight amber cast. "Are you ready? Here goes nothing..." Joao squeezed his hands together anxiously. She cast her light spell again, creating a small ball of very bright, very pure white light. Squinting, Gillian held the rose quartz up to the light, adjusting the distance until the asterism deep within the crystal came into sharp focus. The crystal glowed and a beam of rosy light shot forth from it. She angled the crystal so the beam shone upon the concoction in the glass dish and held her breath... "By Lir's blood..." Joao said softly. "Work!" His gaze was transfixed by the sight of the polarized light infused the concoction that he and Raina had so carefully and painstakingly prepared. The trio felt a surge of power flow through them, radiating out from the dish in a warm wave. Acrid smoke filled the air as the contents began to spark and bubble. With almost sentient locomotion, the concoction moved and swirled within its container, reshaping itself until finally it settled into a translucent, golden jelly, not unlike honey. It made a belching noise and then grew still. This was certainly not how the recipe had described Malachite's Blood. For one, it should have been much darker. Second, it should have possessed more solidity - like a lotion. The container belched again, as if to mock their efforts. Gillian dismissed her conjured white light and lowered the crystal. She stared at the glass dish and her brow furrowed. "This wasn't the expected result," she stated obviously. "Is it...alive?" She poked it with a handy glass stirring rod. "Have we inadvertently created a creature of some sort?" Joao wondered. Gillian's bravery with the rod allowed him to regain his sense of speech. He looked toward Raina and put a hand on her shoulder. Raina merely gaped at the... thing... in bewilderment. At the introduction of the stirring rod, the honeyed construct sluggishly extended ropy tendrils and examined the offending object. It blindly moved higher and higher up the rod. It appeared to be probing for something, but otherwise remained inoffensive in its movements. Gillian raised her eyebrows. Raina scampered quickly over to where the utensils and containers were kept and came back with a ceramic plate, which she held above the bowl. "We can't let it _out_!" she exclaimed fearfully, waiting for the opportunity to clamp the plate down firmly. Gillian attempted to extract the stirring rod from the blob so Raina could plop down the plate on top of the bowl. The glass easily slid out of the thing’s grasp. The honeyed liquid emitted a sulfurous belch and settled at the bottom of the bowl. Now and again, a rippling shiver passed through its matrix, not unlike the creepy puddings served on Imbolc. "Ewww," Gillian pronounced. She put the bowl down on the table for Raina. ...who plunked the place down firmly on top of it. Another lazy belch rattled the lid, but otherwise no activity was forthcoming from within the bowl. "Likely not." Joao agreed, beaming at Raina for her forethought. "What IS it, and what did we do wrong?" he asked, almost rhetorically. "Perhaps its reacting to light, or in search of a nutrient or reagent?" he then asked, looking at his partners. "I have no idea," Gillian replied distractedly, her reply intended for all of Joao's questions. "We followed the instructions faithfully. I improvised with the ivory mortar and pestle, but that shouldn't have made this much of a difference. My guess is that somehow the catalyst is responsible." “Dinner’s ready,” Seabhac called from the doorway. He entered, carrying a tray laden with rich smelling food. “Rainbow trout, potatoes, and greens. Cook even threw in some fresh rolls for. . . Uh. Why does everyone look so incredible serious right now? Did the formula not work?” Gillian looked over at him. "Ummm... So how do you feel about pets?" "I am not certain our host, even with his connection to the Courts of Chaos, would consider what has resulted as a pet." Joao said, trying as best as he could to find humor in his voice and not quite succeeding. "Our alchemical efforts have produced an unexpected and unwanted result, Seabhac." Joao clarified. "Perhaps you might best be able to identify this." he added. "It appears to be alive." Raina stepped aside to allow him to look. Seabhac wrinkled his brow in confusion. He set the food down and then joined them. “Color me confused, guys, but what in the Unicorn’s name are you. . .” He lifted the lid and jumped back in shock. “Holy sheep $%$#!” [Seabhac’s] startled gaze flashed between each person, “You made Malachite's Blood! I mean /real/ Malachite's Blood! How’d you do that?! You have to possess High Sorcery for that kind of conjuration.” Gillian's hands flew to her mouth, her eyes wide. She had a suspicion what had happened and it wasn't something she wanted to try to explain. Seabhac carefully put the lid back on. “Whatever you do, don’t touch it! I don’t have a mop handy.” She lowered her hands slightly. "What would happen if we touched it?" Seabhac made a half-chuckle, “Uh. Your pet comment would have been highly apropos. The Blood is a flesh-altering salve. Normally, only used for repairing wounds or minor alterations. Its pure form, however, can cause /significant/ changes. It possesses a symbiotic quality that allows it to instantly bind with a subject and then reshape their body. Bio-thaumaturgists use it in their work, but no use asking them. They’ll lie. And if you’re not trained to control the changes. . . well, let’s just say I’d be breaking out a sponge. “As cute as your eyes are, Gilly, I suspect more than two would ruin the effect.” Her hands went back up to cover her mouth. "Was it that we did too well in getting our ingredients?" Joao asked. He looked at Gillian and Raina with a slight look of worry. "Should we have simply tried to formulate the Lesser version after all?" "No," Gillian replied indignantly to Joao. "Never dummy yourself down!" She looked both surprised and chagrined at her outburst. "I'm sorry. I just...um." Seabhac raised a brow at Gillian, but then nodded, “Gilly’s right. It’s obvious you three have some serious, untapped skills." Gillian looked away, avoiding Seabhac's gaze. "Never sell yourself short in magick, Joao. Now, did either of your three alter the ingredients in some way?” He fetched what appeared to be a brass jeweler’s loupe mounted on a headset. He slipped it on and carefully lifted the plate to examine the Blood. "Raina, will you explain what we did?" Gillian requested. She took a step away and behind, putting herself in the background. "Well, first Joao dried the ingredients with a cantrip to remove the water," Raina began, carefully ordering the steps in her mind. "Then we ground the scales and the fur together with the mortar and pestle. We used an ivory one because Gillian thought it might work better to use animal-based utensils. Also, we thought it best to use an animal oil rather than olive oil as the base. We found some whale oil, so we used that," she explained. "We combined the ingredients and heated the mixture gently, stirring constantly," Raina continued. "And... then we got this," she pointed at the bowl, obviously not knowing where to go from here. "There was the catalyst too," Gillian added quietly. "We used a pure white light source shining through the rose quartz stone there on the bench." Gillian scratched her cheek nervously. She wasn't capable of high sorcery, but perhaps the Voice inside her head was. The thought excited her in a way she wasn't at all comfortable with. Joao coughed politely. He briefly explained in his own words how he’d used a cantrip on the scales prior to their processing. Seabhac listened intently, considering what he and the girls had explained. “Well, any one of you could have been the catalyst for this change,” Seabhac concluded. “Or maybe the combination of your skills simply created something serendipitous. Either way, we now have a bowl full of Malachite’s Blood. Professor Zeppel is going to have a kitten when he sees this. “Although, I’ll bet he gives you all top grades. After he recovers from the shock, that is.” "And the lab. He promised us a lab if we passed," Gillian added. He folded his arms, smiling. “Life is going to be interesting with you three around, I can see that. Gillian, fetch me a beaker would you? The big one on that shelf. Let’s get this thing contained.” Gillian hurried to comply and brought back the beaker he'd indicated. Seabhac smiled in thanks and placed the beaker beside the bowl. Carefully, he removed the plate and lifted the bowl up. The Blood quivered like an angry blancmange, as if sensing its impeding imprisonment. It let out a sulfurous belch and then began to ooze into the beaker in a snotty dribble. Mucousy tendrils probed the air, as if seeking purchase but finding none. With one last squelch, the last of its body slid into the beaker; Seabhac sealing it shut with a glass topper. The young prince set the bowl down and sighed with genuine relief. “Well, that was interesting. But, at the very least, you three have a guaranteed top grade in the class.” "Um....how about dinner?" Gillian asked, smiling rather nervously. "Rainbow trout?" Joao's face lit up at the mention of the promised piscine dinner. "Da" he agreed with a smile. "We have exceeded expectations, let us now celebrate with a meal." Seabhac nodded, “Let’s eat then. The upper balcony has a nice view of the mountain and comfortable box seats. We can eat and enjoy the moonrise.” He grabbed the tray and waited for the others to proceed. Gillian followed quickly, eager to leave the lab. Raina followed close behind. Joao politely allowed the ladies to proceed him before he exited, a respectful but familiar two strides behind Raina. |
