Chapter 77: V2 One

                                                                                                    

Kitsune’s Fury - A fiery death for your enemies. 

• 300 grams of fire berries, seeds removed. 

• 25 grams of fresh Drakus flower petals 

• 100 grams of sugar

• 10 grams of sulfur

• 15 grams of saltpeter 

• 5 round clay containers, 1 inch in diameter, as per illustration below. 

• 50 grams of Stuck-fast tree sap.

• 1 liter of water

 

Slice the fire berries into even chunks, and place in a copper pot. Use masher to mash together the fire berries into a thick paste, while slowly adding sugar. Once sugar and berries have been combined, place over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When the mixture thickens, remove from heat, and set aside to cool or use an ice wisp core to speed the cooling process. 

Once the fire berry mixture has cooled, add saltpeter and sulfur then mix to incorporate. Divide mixture in 5 bowls, each bowl should contain 70 milligrams of mixture. 

Caution - This next step involves volatile ingredients. Proceed with care. Ensure a bucket containing sand is kept nearby in case of accidental fire. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO EXTINGUISH WITH WATER! 

Add 5 grams of Drakus flower petals to each bowl, and carefully stir. Do not over stir! 

Carefully place the mixture into a leather piping bag, and gently fill the first round clay container. As you fill the container, ensure to tap it on the bench to shake out any air bubbles. It is crucial that there are no air bubbles inside the container once it is sealed! 

Once mixture has been added to the clay container, dip the clay stopper in the stuck-fast tree sap and seal the container. Use the stuck-fast sap to coat the outside of the container with an even layer, and set aside. Continue filling each container in turn.

Fill a large pot with water, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, use a pair of long-handled tongs to submerge each of the dried orbs for five minutes. It is recommended each orb be submerged on their own, in order to better contain any fire that breaks out should one of the orbs crack or explode. Cracks and explosions can occur due to either air bubbles inside the container, or thermal shock of the clay if it has not been properly sealed. Set aside to cool. 

Congratulations if you’ve made it this far without dying a fiery death. You are now ready to set your foes alight with the fury of a Kitsune. 

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The soft scratching of pen meeting paper, along with the gurgling of various liquids being distilled inside several retorts were the only sounds that could be heard inside the underground lab, and I relished in the peaceful serenity. Such peace was only found when most of the guild took to their beds at noon, in order to escape the desert heat. Taking advantage of quiet time alone, I focused on transcribing my notes from the coded recipe traditionally used by alchemists, into something those who lacked such knowledge could better understand.  

“Great Trismegistus, you who are all-knowing and wise,
I plead to thee, teach me your ways.
I seek your wisdom and insight,
so I can walk a path of greater knowledge. 

In the name of the High Priestess,
I call to thee, and plea.
Let me go forth into the world,
Spreading thy knowledge of natural philosophy.” 

“Oh for fucks sake,” I moaned, burying my head my hands. “This isn’t what I signed up for.” 

Focusing on the person I could feel faintly in the back of my mind, I pushed myself towards them mentally, speaking directly into their mind. 

“Trismegistus has heard your prayer, disciple. Now, I, High Priestess of Philosophia Naturalis, shall bestow upon you a blessing. Be it Alchemy, Transmutation or Astrology that you would seek further guidance?”

“Are…Are you talking to me?”

 Rolling my eyes in annoyance, I pinched the bridge of my nose as the girlish voice began babbling in my head about wanting to create gold from lead. 

“Such a feat would require great skill in all branches of natural philosophy, disciple. But alas, only one blessing can be given. Show yourself worthy, and mayhap in time Trismegistus may look favorably upon thee.” I responded, doing my best to play the role of mystical high priestess, a role which was fast growing tiresome. 

“Well… What do I get for each one?” 

Massaging my temples in slow circles, I took a deep steadying breath, preparing myself for what was to come. This wasn’t the first time I’d dealt with a disciple who wanted to know the ins and outs of each blessing before making their choice. The last one hadn’t even made a choice, instead requesting time to ‘think it over’. 

What was there to think about? You could either get alchemic sight, which allowed you to easily identify items that held alchemic value. A scroll with a transmutation circle, which once the required items were collected, would allow them to forge their transmutation amulet, or the ability to sense the alignment of celestial bodies. The last being one I’d yet to bestow. Not surprising considering it was rather lacking compared to the other two blessings. 

Half an hour later, I mentally ticked the transmutation box in my mind and disconnected from the girl. Her presence faded, drifting to the back of my consciousness joining dozens of golden sparks floating in my mind, each representing a disciple sworn by my name.

 It had been my own stupidity really, Tris had warned me only to directly initiate those I intended to personally guide. According to a very amused god, by telling the disciples to pray in my name, they were declaring themselves my personal disciples. 

Thus, they were mine to guide, and the old bastard refused to respond to any of them. Though, the god eventually conceded to my pleas, and agreed to ensure the line about praying in my name would fade from the written prayer after I reached the required fifty disciples to fulfill my task. 

When I’d tasked Kip with the job of using the copying circle to create thousands of prayer pages, and used the favor owed to me by the Whispers guild to distribute them, I’d never dreamed it would end up like this. The hourglass the god gave me to track my task of gathering fifty disciples, seemed to taunt me as it showed only thirty eight disciples had sworn themselves to the path, despite it feeling like so many more. 

I was a little surprised at first that there were so few, but as Pia demonstrated with her mocking attempt to swear herself my disciple, purely so she could annoy me by talking in my head. Only those who truly intended to devote themselves would be acknowledged by the god. Something I was forever grateful for, it was bad enough that Kip and Corvus could ‘pray’ to me for guidance.Though, I was certain the golden haired lion bakeneko only decided to learn Transmutation so he could annoy me. Even if he did appear to be genuinely interested in the magic's potential uses in battle. 

Aside from those two, I’d so far gathered another four disciples from the guild who were currently staying at the desert encampment, all of whom wished to learn alchemy. Though, I suspected there would be more once Darius spread word through the guild. 

Even though Tris agreed to change the prayer, there was no way to prevent the prayer from spreading verbally. Thankfully, the god promised that after the first fifty disciples, I was free to refuse them if I felt those who prayed in my name were unworthy of my personal attention. He’d even gone so far as to permit exchange disciples, so long as I maintained a minimum of fifty disciples. 

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This would allow me to filter out those who annoyed me and replace them with better disciples who wouldn’t bother me with endless questions. Something I was grateful for, as I feared my head might explode if the voices didn't stop soon..  

“Great Trismegistus, you who are all-knowing and wise….” 

Two hours, and a pounding headache later, I stared at the hourglass, as the numbers changed ever closer to the desired fifty disciples. 

Just one more, I thought gleefully as I hugged the hourglass to my chest and let out a relieved sigh at the knowledge that my plight was almost over. Sure, I would have fifty disciples to guide, but it was a lot better than the hundreds or thousands it could have been considering how many pages I’d sent out. 

A knock on the door to my lab interrupted my mental cheering, and I released my hold on the hourglass. Pulling open the door, I found a slender blond haired elven man standing on the other side, a copy of my book, ‘Basic Salves and Tinctures for the everyday potioneer’ clutched tightly  in his hands. 

“Cr…Craftmaster Kadia.” The elf greeted, stumbling over his words slightly as he spoke. 

Furrowing my brow, I eyed the man without responding, waiting for him to continue speaking. His appearance was vaguely familiar, but I didn’t recall him being among the few guild members who’d approached me to request I teach them alchemy. Each of them had been given each one a copy of my book, but this one did not resemble any of those who’d been assigned the test to prove himself worthy of joining my lab. 

“Did you need something?” I queried when the man simply stared at me nervously without speaking.  

“I… I would like to apologize,” he murmured in response, lowering his eyes to the floor. “I behaved poorly when we last met.” 

“Did you?” I pondered thoughtfully, trying to remember if anyone had been rude to me recently. 

“I acted out of jealousy, and shame.” The elf said, his cheeks becoming a rosy pink as he continued staring at the floor. “Before coming to this world, I was one of the guild's alchemists. Yet now, I’ve been relegated to the treasury department. No matter how hard I tried, I could not progress as an alchemist. I've tried experimenting, tried recreating the recipes used in Avalon, but all ended in failures.” 

The treasury department, ah, now I remember him! He’s the elf who wanted to search my bags last week. So, he wanted to be an alchemist? 

“Helvara wasn't it? I see you’ve acquired a copy of my book,” I noted, leaning against the doorframe as I gazed at the contrite looking elf. 

“Yes craftmaster,” looking visibly anxious, the elf raised his eyes to meet my own. “Commander Corvus gave it to me.” 

“Did he also inform you of the requirements to learn?” 

“Yes, he did. The pain relieving tincture can be improved by replacing the ethanol with honey. Honey acts as a natural…”  

“Is that all?” I drawled, cutting off the babbling man, who seemed to shrink into himself as I spoke. That answer was one I’d heard three times already, and it wasn’t really much of an improvement. 

“Yes,” he whispered, shoulders hunched. “I’m sorry for wasting your time.” 

I eyed the man who appeared to be on the verge of tears, and felt a pang of pity for the elf who clearly wanted to learn. 

“Take this.” I said, yanking a piece of paper from my belt pouch and shoving at what would be my fiftieth disciple.  “Recite the prayer, and be back here at half-past three.”

“Thank you,” falling to his knees, the elf read out the prayer, staring up at me as he did so. Unlike when Kip and Corvus prayed in front of me, there was no mockery clouding this man's tone as he spoke. 

 “Trismegistus has heard your prayer, disciple. Now I, High Priestess of Philosophia Naturalis, shall bestow upon you a blessing. I bless upon thee, oh disciple, the gift of alchemic sight.” I informed him, my own tone sounding dull compared to his reverent and enthusiastic prayer.

“Thank you, High Priestess. I humbly await any task you should bestow upon me.” 

Ugh, another one wanting a quest. He already has a copy of my book, so I can’t tell him to go buy and read it to increase his proficiency. Then again, why not?

“Has thou fully read and understood the book you clasp so tightly? Read it thrice more before your return.” I said imperiously, waving my hand in a gesture for the man to depart. 

 “I shall High Priestess,” the elf babbled as he scrambled to his feet, before bending forwards in a bow. 

Shutting the door, I slumped tiredly against it and closed my eyes as the aching pain in my head grew stronger. 

I’d done it. Fifty disciples sworn to the path of natural philosophy with a week and a half to spare. Tris! I deserve a reward for timely delivery!