Chapter 422: The Next Step
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Chapter 422: The Next Step
The Next Step
It was a new fiveday, and Martel began like most mornings in the apothecary. As he entered, the resident apprentice turned and nodded at him in greeting. "Hullo, Martel. Mistress Rana was out last night, gathering herbs. I started, but if you could dry those?"
"Certainly." Martel took position at his worktable and looked through the plants. It was an eerie sight; they looked familiar, yet he did not feel certain he could recognise them. He picked one up; it resembled coltsfoot, but the colour was wrong.
"Oh, these have been infused with magic. Have you dried those kinds of herbs before?"
Martel looked at Nora, shaking his head. "Just ordinary ones."
"Right. Well, the process is the same, but it will feel different. You'll sense the essence of magic, I suppose you could call it. Be gentle when you pull the water out, or you might disturb the magic as well, making the herb useless. I don't have to warn you what Mistress Rana will think of that."
"Indeed you don't." Martel closed his hand around the plant, letting his magical sense fill it. He understood what Nora meant: the herb almost felt alive, as if it could grow and sprout on his palm. It tingled with power.
As gently as he could, Martel let his magic connect with the water present inside the green and yellow flower. He pulled on it, dragging it out to form drops on his skin. It took him a while, much longer than any ordinary herb, where he did not have to worry about his magic interfering with another force. Water being the opposite of his natural talent did not make it easy either, though he was accustomed to the process by now.
At length, he felt satisfied and tied up the plants in the rafters. A trained watermage could probably have emptied the herb of every bit of moisture, but Martel lacked the talent for that. Still, he had reduced what could have taken days to hours.
"Another thing, before I forget," Nora suddenly spoke up. "Mistress Rana is asleep right now, but she asked if you could return this afternoon and see her in the laboratory."
The mouse squirmed, but could not avoid drops of the liquid entering its mouth; satisfied, the alchemist placed the creature back into a small cage. "Still alive. That's good."
"You wanted to see me?"
"Yes. There is much left to teach you about alchemy, but time is running out, which means we must prioritise. While there are still some useful recipes I would like to teach you personally, something else must take precedence."
"Yes?"
"A lot of herbs are blossoming at this time of year. Now, for simple potions, you can use ordinary plants that any old fool can harvest. You simply awaken their dormant magic as you need it. But more complex elixirs need reagents where the magic is fully realised already at the time of gathering. Other factors may influence their potency and uses as well."
"Such as the light of the moon," Martel considered.
"Very good. Yes. For this reason, we shall pause our work in the laboratory. You may resume working Manday mornings again instead of afternoons. Instead, we shall go gathering on Soldays. I spoke with Mistress Juliana, who said you have no classes on that day, only your chore in the workshops."
True, though Master Jerome had given him leave to practise enchantment during that bell. Still, Martel needed and wanted to learn herblore. It was obvious that this was the next and necessary step in his studies of alchemy. "I'll be ready, mistress."
"Good. Our first journey will be this Solday. Meet me in the entrance hall as soon as you can after first bell. We'll have to leave the city, so it'll take all day. We'll be back late at night."
"Understood."
The alchemist turned around to look at the cage. The mouse lay on its back. "Still too soon to try this recipe on a human, I guess."L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on Ñøv€l--B1n.
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Chapter 422: The Next Step
The Next Step
It was a new fiveday, and Martel began like most mornings in the apothecary. As he entered, the resident apprentice turned and nodded at him in greeting. "Hullo, Martel. Mistress Rana was out last night, gathering herbs. I started, but if you could dry those?"
"Certainly." Martel took position at his worktable and looked through the plants. It was an eerie sight; they looked familiar, yet he did not feel certain he could recognise them. He picked one up; it resembled coltsfoot, but the colour was wrong.
"Oh, these have been infused with magic. Have you dried those kinds of herbs before?"
Martel looked at Nora, shaking his head. "Just ordinary ones."
"Right. Well, the process is the same, but it will feel different. You'll sense the essence of magic, I suppose you could call it. Be gentle when you pull the water out, or you might disturb the magic as well, making the herb useless. I don't have to warn you what Mistress Rana will think of that."
"Indeed you don't." Martel closed his hand around the plant, letting his magical sense fill it. He understood what Nora meant: the herb almost felt alive, as if it could grow and sprout on his palm. It tingled with power.
As gently as he could, Martel let his magic connect with the water present inside the green and yellow flower. He pulled on it, dragging it out to form drops on his skin. It took him a while, much longer than any ordinary herb, where he did not have to worry about his magic interfering with another force. Water being the opposite of his natural talent did not make it easy either, though he was accustomed to the process by now.
At length, he felt satisfied and tied up the plants in the rafters. A trained watermage could probably have emptied the herb of every bit of moisture, but Martel lacked the talent for that. Still, he had reduced what could have taken days to hours.
"Another thing, before I forget," Nora suddenly spoke up. "Mistress Rana is asleep right now, but she asked if you could return this afternoon and see her in the laboratory."
The mouse squirmed, but could not avoid drops of the liquid entering its mouth; satisfied, the alchemist placed the creature back into a small cage. "Still alive. That's good."
"You wanted to see me?"
"Yes. There is much left to teach you about alchemy, but time is running out, which means we must prioritise. While there are still some useful recipes I would like to teach you personally, something else must take precedence."
"Yes?"
"A lot of herbs are blossoming at this time of year. Now, for simple potions, you can use ordinary plants that any old fool can harvest. You simply awaken their dormant magic as you need it. But more complex elixirs need reagents where the magic is fully realised already at the time of gathering. Other factors may influence their potency and uses as well."
"Such as the light of the moon," Martel considered.
"Very good. Yes. For this reason, we shall pause our work in the laboratory. You may resume working Manday mornings again instead of afternoons. Instead, we shall go gathering on Soldays. I spoke with Mistress Juliana, who said you have no classes on that day, only your chore in the workshops."
True, though Master Jerome had given him leave to practise enchantment during that bell. Still, Martel needed and wanted to learn herblore. It was obvious that this was the next and necessary step in his studies of alchemy. "I'll be ready, mistress."
"Good. Our first journey will be this Solday. Meet me in the entrance hall as soon as you can after first bell. We'll have to leave the city, so it'll take all day. We'll be back late at night."
"Understood."
The alchemist turned around to look at the cage. The mouse lay on its back. "Still too soon to try this recipe on a human, I guess."L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on Ñøv€l--B1n.
Chapter 422: The Next StepThe Next StepIt was a new fiveday, and Martel began like most mornings in the apothecary. As he entered, the resident apprentice turned and nodded at him in greeting. "Hullo, Martel. Mistress Rana was out last night, gathering herbs. I started, but if you could dry those?""Certainly." Martel took position at his worktable and looked through the plants. It was an eerie sight; they looked familiar, yet he did not feel certain he could recognise them. He picked one up; it resembled coltsfoot, but the colour was wrong."Oh, these have been infused with magic. Have you dried those kinds of herbs before?"Martel looked at Nora, shaking his head. "Just ordinary ones.""Right. Well, the process is the same, but it will feel different. You'll sense the essence of magic, I suppose you could call it. Be gentle when you pull the water out, or you might disturb the magic as well, making the herb useless. I don't have to warn you what Mistress Rana will think of that.""Indeed you don't." Martel closed his hand around the plant, letting his magical sense fill it. He understood what Nora meant: the herb almost felt alive, as if it could grow and sprout on his palm. It tingled with power.As gently as he could, Martel let his magic connect with the water present inside the green and yellow flower. He pulled on it, dragging it out to form drops on his skin. It took him a while, much longer than any ordinary herb, where he did not have to worry about his magic interfering with another force. Water being the opposite of his natural talent did not make it easy either, though he was accustomed to the process by now.At length, he felt satisfied and tied up the plants in the rafters. A trained watermage could probably have emptied the herb of every bit of moisture, but Martel lacked the talent for that. Still, he had reduced what could have taken days to hours."Another thing, before I forget," Nora suddenly spoke up. "Mistress Rana is asleep right now, but she asked if you could return this afternoon and see her in the laboratory."The mouse squirmed, but could not avoid drops of the liquid entering its mouth; satisfied, the alchemist placed the creature back into a small cage. "Still alive. That's good.""You wanted to see me?""Yes. There is much left to teach you about alchemy, but time is running out, which means we must prioritise. While there are still some useful recipes I would like to teach you personally, something else must take precedence.""Yes?""A lot of herbs are blossoming at this time of year. Now, for simple potions, you can use ordinary plants that any old fool can harvest. You simply awaken their dormant magic as you need it. But more complex elixirs need reagents where the magic is fully realised already at the time of gathering. Other factors may influence their potency and uses as well.""Such as the light of the moon," Martel considered."Very good. Yes. For this reason, we shall pause our work in the laboratory. You may resume working Manday mornings again instead of afternoons. Instead, we shall go gathering on Soldays. I spoke with Mistress Juliana, who said you have no classes on that day, only your chore in the workshops."True, though Master Jerome had given him leave to practise enchantment during that bell. Still, Martel needed and wanted to learn herblore. It was obvious that this was the next and necessary step in his studies of alchemy. "I'll be ready, mistress.""Good. Our first journey will be this Solday. Meet me in the entrance hall as soon as you can after first bell. We'll have to leave the city, so it'll take all day. We'll be back late at night.""Understood."The alchemist turned around to look at the cage. The mouse lay on its back. "Still too soon to try this recipe on a human, I guess."L1tLagoon witnessed the first publication of this chapter on Nvl--B1n.
